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[av_heading heading=’Long-term plan for Iloilo garbage sought’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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ILOILO – The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) wanted to come up with a long-term program on solid waste management (SWM).
“It will give us direction…We are reviewing our Provincial Revenue Code para kami man sa PENRO ma-relate namon ang amon activities leading towards what the ordinance is asking us to do,” said Atty. Arturo Cangrejo, PENRO officer-in-charge.
The PENRO led the 1st Provincial SWM Summit yesterday at the provincial capitol. Among those present were municipal ENROs, SWM coordinators, and officials of PENRO’s pilot barangays for solid waste management.
Cangrejo recalled that last year, the Environmental Ombudsman filed charges against local officials of several towns across the country, including those from Iloilo, for violation of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, specifically for maintaining open dumpsites.
“We want to give emphasis sa sini nga problema. Kon pabay-an naton, mangin isa ka dako ini nga problema later on,” said Cangrejo.
He acknowledged that some municipalities were having a hard time complying with the law on solid waste management.
“This year, the provincial government allotted P1.7 million bilang bulig sa ila pagpreparar sang ila sanitary landfills,” said Cangrejo.
Seventeen municipalities received P100,000 each.
Next year, more towns will receive financial assistance from the provincial government for their sanitary landfills, said Cangrejo.
“Importante makita sang Environmental Ombudsman that we are doing something to comply with the law,” he stressed.
SWM provincial coordinator Mitch Peñaflorida cited the municipality of New Lucena as model in solid waste management.
New Lucena has a eco-park and an active municipal environment and natural resources officer that checks each barangay’s solid waste management initiatives.
Peñaflorida also cited Miag-ao town.
September this year, the Office of the Ombudsman’s Environmental Ombudsman disclosed it was investigating officials of six local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas for operating open dumpsites.
Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon and concurrent Environmental Ombudsman Gerard Mosquera identified the six LGUs as Nabas in Aklan province; and Banate, Ajuy, Concepcion, Santa Barbara, and Sara in Iloilo.
Open dumpsites must be closed, said Mosquera.
The Environmental Ombudsman is expected to release the results of its probe early next year.
Violation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, specifically of Section 37 that prohibits open dumpsites, comes with heavy penalties.
“The administrative offense is gross neglect of duty because the law requires that you do not maintain an open dumpsite. It is punishable by dismissal from the service and include penalties of perpetual disqualification from holding public office either by appointment or by election,” said Mosquera.
The officials of the six Western Visayas towns were among the 600 local government executives across the country being investigated for the alleged violation.
The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, which prohibits the establishment or operation of open dumps for solid wastes, instead requires LGUs to convert them into controlled dumps.
Across the Philippines, the Environmental Ombudsman’s probe covers 50 mayors, 50 vice mayors and some 400 local executives (mostly sanggunian members).
“Hindi pwedeng magtago ang local officials. We ourselves visit the dumpsites,” said Mosquera.
In 2013, the Environmental Ombudsman program, in collaboration with the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), launched a three-year nationwide campaign to increase awareness of, and promote voluntary compliance with RA 9003.
Under this program, LGUs were directed to conduct self-assessment on their compliance and to voluntarily implement corrective measures.
Two years after implementation, tracer results showed that the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act remains to be the least prioritized local government program./PN
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