City Gov’t implements ‘NO SEGREGATION, NO COLLECTION’ policy

• Source: http://palawan-news.com/city-govt-implements-no-segregation-no-collection-policy/
• Wednesday, November 23, 2016

By Joy Tabuada

The City Government of Puerto Princesa is taking a serious stand in the implementation of Republic Act 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act as it pushes for the “No Segregation, No Collection’ policy in its waste management program.

Since last week, the City Solid Waste Management Office has started to pull out all the garbage bins in the city, a move that surprised city residents.

City Information Officer Richard Ligad said that this policy came out when they learned that the national government has commenced to run after local government units that do not fully implement a Solid Waste Management Program.

“Kailangan i-full implement ‘natin kasi yan din ang sinabi sa atin ng national (government).Dahil mayroong na-create na sariling task force ang Ombudsman para tingnan lang ‘yan (SWM implementation,” Ligad said. Ligad, however, admitted that at the city government level there was no extensive effort to disseminate the new policy of the SWM Office because the responsibility to inform the people was mostly unloaded to barangay officials since September 2016.

“ Hindi ganun kalakas ang info dissemination kasi ininform sa kapitan. Dapat sila ang nagbaba ng information. Tayo (CIO) meron din pero panawagan lang at hindi full blast,” Ligad added.

RA 9003 or the Solid Management Act, Section 10 states that “LGUs shall be primarily responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this Act within their respective jurisdictions.” Ligad admitted that the city government was caught flatfooted on this concern because the national government, traditionally, did not seem too serious on the implementation of the Act. The LGUs only realized the seriousness of the concern when the national government created a task force that will monitor the implementation of the said law. “Kapag hinakot ang basura na hindi naka-segregate pati ang driver ng truck ay makakasuhan at magmumulta,” he said.

The City Information Department also relayed that Mayor Lucilo Bayron has instructed the SWM Office that in spite of the policy, particularly the pulling out of trash bins in the streets, they still need to ensure the cleanliness of the city while in the transition period.

The chairpersons of the 66 barangays of Puerto Princesa City are now encouraged to devise strategies to effectively implement proper waste segregation of every household in their areas.

Presently, the main challenge lies in the disposal of biodegradable wastes which might cause the surroundings to stink if not done properly. Ligad, however, advised that the wastes be buried in the ground as much as possible. City residents, however, aired their sentiment via social media saying that “the implementation of this policy is so drastic and they are not prepared”. Others are resorting to burning their garbage which is also prohibited in Section 48 of RA 9003