ILOILO City – Mayor Raisa Treñas is forming a monitoring team to ensure full compliance of the city’s 180 barangays with the weekly Clean-Up Day, citing poor implementation of Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) as a critical weakness in the solid waste management efforts.
“We’re not just sweeping streets every Saturday,” Treñas emphasized. “There must be accountability — from the barangays, from City Hall, and from our citizens. We can’t clean up the city unless everyone takes part — and unless our systems, like MRFs, actually work.”
MRFs are essential components of the country’s waste management strategy. As mandated under Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, every barangay or cluster of barangays is required to establish an MRF to sort, process, and store recyclable and biodegradable waste materials. These facilities help divert waste from landfills and reduce environmental pollution.
Iloilo City’s environmental campaign, launched city-wide on July 12 in Barangay San Juan, Molo district, collected six tons of garbage in a single day. But Treñas warned that such efforts will fall short if not sustained through consistent monitoring and stronger barangay participation.
“Barangay officials must lead the clean-up, but we also need people on the ground monitoring it. That’s the only way we can sustain this program,” she said.
The mayor also urged barangay leaders to actively educate residents about responsible waste disposal and the importance of neighborhood cleanliness.
“Behavior change is just as important as physical clean-ups,” she added.
A major concern raised by Treñas is the dismal state of MRF operations across many barangays.
“There are barangays that don’t use their MRFs — or worse, don’t have one at all,” she said. “We are now looking closely into how these facilities are being managed. Because if MRFs are not working, all our efforts will go to waste.”
Engineer Neil Ravena, head of the city government’s General Services Office (GSO), confirmed that waste monitoring remains a challenge, particularly in the city’s 26 coastal barangays and 18 riverside communities.
“Our teams have monitored MRFs… but we continue to see massive amounts of plastic waste ending up in our waterways,” Ravena said. “For example, we recovered 760 kilograms of plastic just from Batiano River. That’s a red flag.”
Ravena added that several barangays lack operational MRFs despite previous trainings and support from the city. Others struggle with land availability and resident opposition rooted in the “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) mindset.
“One problem is that many barangays don’t have a proper lot for the MRF. Second, some residents object to having a facility near their homes, thinking it’s dirty or smelly,” Ravena explained.
To address these, the city government is pursuing two strategies: clustering MRFs among groups of 10 barangays, and deploying mobile MRF units. So far, 18 barangays have received mobile units to improve waste collection efficiency.
The city generates approximately 650 tons of waste daily, but only about 400 tons are collected and delivered to the landfill. With a current waste diversion rate of just 30 percent, Treñas is targeting a 50 percent diversion rate through better MRF utilization and improved community participation.
The mayor is expected to release further directives to barangays and lead a comprehensive review of all MRF operations in the city in the coming weeks./PN
