As part of its effort to mitigate illegal waste disposal, the Davao City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) continues to educate barangays and Puroks about proper waste disposal in Davao City.
Orly Limpangog of the CENRO Information Education Campaign Unit Environmental Waste Management Division, said they continue to conduct orientations to educate people in the barangays and puroks about the effects of improper waste disposal, especially during the rainy season.
He said every quarter, they continue monitoring barangays and coastal communities to check on those who abide by the proper waste segregation and disposal.
He said deputized enforcers from CENRO and the barangays monitor those who do not follow the city’s ordinance.
He added there are still barangays that do not strictly implement the city’s ordinance due to lack of political will.
“Wala man ta’y giingon nga limitation kung pila kabuok ang enforcer kay kabahin sa barangay ecological solid waste management committee mas labing maayo kung daghan ang manakupay. Dili lang gi-require sa balaod ang barangay functionaries kundili apil ang atoang civil society (There is no limitation on the number of enforcers because according to the barangay ecological solid waste management committee, it is better if there are many. The law not only requires the barangay functionaries but also members of our civil society),” he said in an interview with the city-owned Davao City Disaster Radio.
But Limpangog said some barangay officials are having a hard time implementing the ordinance fearing that it would negatively affect their political career.
“Aduna’y mga barangay nga gi-require nato nga naa’y mga deputized enforcer pero naay kahadlok sa pagpangdakop tungod sa sulti nga politically mapildi, dili mudaog kay nangdakop (There are barangays that have deputized enforcers, but many are afraid to do arrests because they believe that they will lose in the elections),” he added.
Ordinance 0706-21 mandates that individuals who fail to separate their waste may be penalized P500, while negligent businesses may be required to pay P5,000.
He said they also continue conducting random ocular inspection in establishments.
“Actually sa Barangay 30, ka-upat or ka-lima ka beses nami naka-conduct diha og random ocular inspection sa mga business establishment. Hinuon, naa po’y pipila nga malapason. So, karon, mura’g naa na sila’y learning kay every time magpatawag ang atoang kapitan, labina kung naay mga aktibidades ang barangay, majority mangapil na gyud ang atoang business establishment kay kabalo na gyud sila nga seryoso ang implementation sa barangay 30 (We have already conducted four or five random ocular inspections on business establishments in Barangay 30. There were a number of violators. It appears that they have learned their lesson since most of our businesses attend whenever our barangay captain calls, especially during barangay events. This is because they know how serious we are in the implementation of the ordinance in Barangay 30),” he said.
He also called on the barangays to abide by the new program of the national government mandating barangays to conduct “Operation Linis” every Friday. CIO
