An employee of the City ENRO of San Jose del Monte in the Province of Bulacan visited recently in the Office of the City ENRO of Puerto Princesa to learn from its ongoing projects and activities. Ms. Louvell P. Canlas, Public Service Inspector I of the City ENRO of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, said that she has learned about some of the initiatives and projects of Puerto Princesa City during her meeting with City ENR Officer Atty. Carlo B. Gomez.
Their office intends to replicate some of the good practices that she learned about Puerto Princesa City, specifically its existing ordinance, environment-related projects and activities. She brought colorful bags made from tetra pack and sachets, which is one of their ongoing activities in San Jose del Monte City through their office’s Enforcement and Solid Waste Management Division.
Canlas explained that their office intensified its efforts to rid plastic wastes due to the stringent regulations imposed by the national government as a result of the issuance of the Supreme Court mandamus on Manila Bay directing 13 government agencies to clean up, rehabilitate, and preserve Manila Bay, and restore and maintain its water quality.
“Mayroon kasing mandamus (from the Supreme Court) at dahil dyan ang mga LGUs around Metro Manila ay pinaghihigpitan sobra. Kaya nag-conduct kami ng mga information campaign at iba pang activities para ma-divert ang solid wastes, instead na mapunta sa waterways o sa dagat ay pinagsisikapan namin na makuha namin ang mga plastic,” she explained.
Canlas said that next week she will visit the Puerto Princesa City Water Reclamation and Learning Center (PPCWRLC), the city’s sewage treatment facility. Puerto Princesa City is one of the pilot cities through United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Clean Cities Blue Ocean (CCBO), a global flagship project implementing the Save Our Seas Act that target ocean plastics directly at the source Recently, the City ENRO facilitated the MOU signing between the City Government of Puerto Princesa and CCBO’s TetraTech in an effort to improve the city’s solid waste management.