Barangay Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa intensifies solid waste management campaign

The barangay government of Sta. Monica intensified its drive on proper waste management through information drive in all its purok, installation of waste bins, and learning from tried-and-tested best practices that can be implemented in the barangay level.

Punong Barangay Ronaldo “Mong” Sayang said on Thursday that it is their intention to become one of the city’s cleanest barangays to comply with Republic Act 9003 also known as the Ecological Solid waste Management Act of 2000.

“Gusto natin na ma-implement talaga itong waste management sa mga households mismo. Kaya mula nitong February 2, ginagawa natin ang information drive sa bawat purok natin with the help ng city government. We have 18 purok in our barangay,” Punong Barangay Sayang said.

On January 2019, he sent a letter to all residents/ households of their barangay and reminded them to clean their surroundings, avoid burning of wastes, and to segregate their solid wastes as a sanitary way of disposing household wastes.

He said that there were five portable waste recovery bins made of steel matting fabricated and distributed to five densely populated purok in their barangay. They also intend to help the city in collecting solid wastes servicing households located in the interior.

He further said that this March 2019, during their synchronized barangay assembly, they will present their plan to his constituents in the barangay to come up with a comprehensive solution to the solid waste management and disposal problem.

Kagawad Exequel Caliwag, chairman of the Committee on Environment, admitted that their problem is not only the unsegregated solid wastes but also the wastes of the stray animals such as dogs and cats, and the wastes scattered along the road because of stray animals.

During their recent information campaign in Purok Imelda and Purok Magkaisa, Kagawad Caliwag bared the barangay’s intention to purchase a shredder machine for biodegradable wastes to process these into fertilizer which can be useful to barangay residents who have backyard vegetable garden.

“Gusto natin na makabili tayo nito. Kaya ng barangay na bumili ng shredder machine para ma-process ang mga basura tulad ng mga dahon at iba pa, at pwede pang magamit. Maraming beses na tayong nag-uusap tungkol sa waste management pero kailangan pa talaga natin ng disiplina,” said Caliwag.