Last week’s visit of city and municipal councilors to attend the national executive officers and board meeting of the Philippine Councilors’ League proved to be an eye opener.
I had the chance to sit with a group of councilors made up of members from Northern Luzon, Southern Tagalog and the Bicol region and from the exchanges that transpired, I gathered that most were impressed by the peace and order.
Almost to a man and woman, everybody agreed we have a ‘smiling martial law’ that compliments the hospitality of the locals. “It does not look bad after all as we read in the news back home,’ said a lady councilor.
Some were also struck by the sheer size of the city and the diverse attractions that abound, on land and at sea.
When the topic shifted to the implementation of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, one Bicol councilor said his city has great company.
“I thought Davao is far ahead but it also relies on open dump and it does not segregate its garbage,” he said. ‘It is the same where I come from.’
“Same, same,”added a councilor from Pangasinan.
Almost to a man and woman, the group added no LGU has so far been charged or fined for its inability to implement the law, more than 10 years since it was passed.
Indeed, I recall that even Baguio City which gained notoriety for its ‘trash slide’ when its dumpsite spilled its contents at the height of a storm in 2011 that led to the killing of three people was not reprimanded or fined for maintaining an ‘eyesore.’ It was only when it was slapped a writ of Kalikasan that it decided to close the dumpsite.
What is it in R.A. 9003 that it continues to be a puzzle why most LGUs tend to ignore it?
The law, authored by Senator Loren Legarda, Republic Act 9003, basically mandates that “no open dump sites shall be established and operated (by an LGU), nor any practice or disposal of solid waste by any, using open dumps, … and that every LGU shall convert its open dumps to controlled dumps.”
It set as policy source reduction and waste minimization measures including composting, recycling, re-use and recycle. It also left the door open to best environmental practices in managing the waste.
Following this law, the open dump is the most primitive of measures in solid waste management. It is no different from sweeping one’s dirt to the edge of a neighbor’s backyard. Out of sight, out of mind.
Although out-dated, the Environmental Sanitary Landfill hues more to the spirit of the law. It is basically a controlled dump.
Unfortunately, the inability of LGUs to implement waste segregation at source has led to many ESLs unable to live up to their projected lifespans, turning most of these ESLs into ‘mountainous heaps of methane-emitting, degrading wastes’ eventually.
In February 2016, the Ombudsman said it will investigate at least 600 local-government executives for violations of RA 9003.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said field investigations revealed that the officials violated RA 9003 and its implementing rules.
Morales added that mayors, vice mayors and Sanggunian members have “the mandate to establish policies and having control over the funds of the city” and that “they conspired in committing the violations of RA 9003 within their jurisdictions.”
The inability of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to sustain an awareness program for LGUs to implement R.A. 9003 is seen as part of the problem. It comes, it goes but mostly it keeps to itself. Today, RA 9003 ‘remains to be the least prioritized local-government program.’
In Davao City, the problem has nothing with Mayor Sara. In fact, I read it somewhere she was vice-mayor when this city passed its organic agriculture ordinance, the first LGU to do so. It is one piece of meaningful legislation that also addresses the problem of climate change if handled correctly.
The problem I suppose lies with some people surrounding her, people who simply cannot think out of the box in so far as the implementation of RA 9003 is concerned. No one is also telling her that ‘urban agriculture’ (as highlighted by a rooftop garden) which was launched early this year turned out a flop.
The non-implementation of the RA 9003 remains the only flaw in the attraction that is Davao City. Where I live, plastics continue to be tossed in empty spaces or along canals. Sometimes, I would see neighbors burning their garbage including plastics in plain view. It is also my belief that the proliferation of dengue cases is related to how solid waste is mishandled or abused.
One compelling reason why Davao City should take the lead in RA 9003 implementation is that it is the hometown of the President himself. Hence, Davao City should go the whole hog in complying with the mandate of the law. In time, other LGUs will follow suit.
And it need not look to first-world countries for solutions that cannot work in a predominantly agricultural setting like Davao City, for the appropriate technologies are there just waiting to be tapped.
