CEBU, Philippines - A total of 256 tons of garbage was collected in yesterday’s coastal and urban clean-up in Cebu City. The trash was collected from 16 coastal, 34 urban and two mountain barangays.
Rivers and creeks in Tejero, Guadalupe, Pasil, Ermita, Carreta, Mabolo, Lahug, and the shorelines of the South Road Properties including the rest of the interior sitios of the city are now clear of floating garbage, improving its physical appearance.
Streets and sidewalks are also partly cleared of campaign posters, tarpaulins and other remnants of the elections.
The Department of Public Services (DPS) however admitted having failed to complete the clearing operation of campaign materials but promised to have another clean-up activity soon.
City Hall employees and volunteers also cleaned the roads of mud and cleared areas that residents used as dumpsites because open dumpsites are already prohibited by the law under Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
DPS chief Dionisio Gualiza also admitted that contrary to the expected 5,000 City Hall employees only a very few of them joined the activity. All the 400 DPS employees however were present.
They were joined in by the volunteers from the different barangays and other organized group that made the collection of the 256 tons of garbage possible.
According to Gualiza, yesterday’s collected garbage was higher compared to the previous cleanup drives.
Based on the previous operations, DPS records show that it usually collects about 150 tons apart from their average daily collection of 400 tons.
DPS based the volume on the number of trucks filled. The collected garbage was brought to the city’s sanitary landfill in Barangay Inayawan.
The clean-up drive is a regular quarterly activity of the city government to ensure cleanliness at all times. Yesterday’s activity however was considered special because it was part of the Cebu Coastline Management Board’s preparation for the rainy season.
Rivers, creeks and waterways must be cleared of garbage to avoid clog-up especially during rainy days. Clogging-up of canals and waterways are usually the causes of flooding in the city.
The city however failed to clear the creeks and the rivers of illegal structures like those in Mahiga creek where houses were actually built in the middle making it very dangerous for the residents during floods.
Gualiza pass on the obligation to demolish the illegal structures on the rivers and creeks to the Department of Engineering and Public Works.
Mayor-elect Michael Rama said he also wants the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to enforce the three-meter easement zone on river banks and streams.
According to the Water Code of the Philippines, the banks of rivers and streams and the shores of the seas, and throughout their entire length and within a zone of three meters in urban areas are subject to the easement of public use in the interest of recreation, navigation, floatage, fishing and salvage. (FREEMAN NEWS)