Strict Enforcement of solid waste laws needed in Barangays

A university dean said that the city government could initiate a household to barangay level waste management program as a lasting solution to the city’s solid wastes.

“Shouldn’t we be empowering our communities to be responsible in maintaining a clean and healthy environment? Maybe the CGPP (City Government of Puerto Princesa) could launch a household to barangay level garbage management program. Hindi po yata maso-solve ang problema sa basura through once or twice a year clean-up days,” Palawan State University Dean Marissa Pontillas said during to the Save the Puerto Princesa Bays activity episode 15 held in Barangay Bagong Silang on July 5.

In a study published by Frontier Marine Science, it was said that coastal cleanup should be turned into a community-led action. This method, according to the study, emphasizes getting local communities actively involved and empowered to tackle their own challenges (Vince and Hardesty, 2016).

Aims Sal Tab said that laws and ordinances on solid wastes are in place, but strict enforcement is needed. He said that solid wastes collectors should not collect unsegregated solid wastes.

“Wag kolektahin ng kapag hindi naka-segregate. Kaya naman yan basta tutukan lang. Nakakaawa na ang PPC (Puerto Princesa City) sa basura,” he recommended.

Republic Act 9003, also known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, prohibits the collection of unsegregated solid wastes, as the law mandates the segregation of waste at the source (household, institutional, industrial, commercial and agricultural) and requires waste collectors to only collect source-segregated waste.

But Puerto Princesa’s dilemma is not only the unsegregated solid wastes but the solid wastes thrown into the city’s coastal waters.

Jann Rodriguez said that after the city officials and employees, uniformed personnel, students, and other sectors join hands to clean a specific area within the city’s urban coastal community, informal settlers in the area still throw their solid wastes to the water bodies. “Pagkatapos maglinis, yung mga tao dyan magtatapun nanaman,” he said.

Erwin Suplito said that the Save the Puerto Princesa Bays program of the city government reduced the volume of solid wastes, but instilling discipline to the people is important because he observed that people in the area lacked discipline in terms of waste management.

Francis Bondoc Mateo said that the urban coastal communities themselves should initiate. He recommended that the barangay officials should monitor also.

“Di ba dapat sila mismo ang maglinis sa paligid nila? Kailangan pa ba na iba ang magmalasakit? Kung hindi nila linisin yan, dapat wala sila dyan. Mga barangay officials kahit yan sana ang proper monitoring nyo sa mga nasasakupan nyo, kung meron man, maintain lang,” Mateo said.

Sofia said that the change should emanate from the coastal residents themselves, because she observed that they still keep on throwing their wastes to the sea after government initiated coastal cleanup. “After linisan, yung mga residente ganun pa din tapon kaliwa’t kanan,” she observed.

But some wanted a program that will make the citizens more disciplined.

“Kaya maraming irresponsible sa basura. Reason nila, lilinisin din naman pala ng city government eh. Meron po bang program para yung mga tao naman ang maging disiplinado?” one Jay Son asked.

To some citizens of this city, they believe that barangay is key to effective implementation of laws on solid wastes.

“Anung ginagawa ng barangay kapitan at ano ang dapat na gawin sa barangay kapitan na dapat mamahala sa kanilang kalinisan?” one Yolly asked.

The barangays, being the smallest local government unit (LGU), serving as the basic unit for governance and service delivery in the country, should actively address solid waste management by implementing waste segregation at the source, establishing Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

While RA 9003 states that the City shall collect residual wastes for disposal to its sanitary landfill, barangays are tasked to collect biodegradable and recyclable wastes and bring this to their MRFs.