DENR allots P17 million for better waste disposal in NCR

MANILA, Philippines -  The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said yesterday that it will release P17 million to improve solid waste management in the National Capital Region.

“The DENR is ready to provide as much as P1 million to each local government unit (LGU) within Metro Manila to assist them in monitoring the compliance, particularly of subdivisions and condominiums,” Secretary Ramon Paje said.

Republic Act 9003, the Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM) Act of 2000, explicitly puts the responsibility of solid waste management on the local government.

“We expect that with this fund assistance, the local governments will be more determined to exact compliance from (their) constituents,” Paje stressed, as he lamented the seeming apathy of city folk toward their environment.

“It pains us to see our own people indiscriminately discarding their garbage in the streets of Metro Manila, dirtying their own surroundings, yet readily follow anti-littering laws in Subic or Singapore,” said Paje, stressing that strict law enforcement could be the key to compliance.

Paje said the fund support is an approach by the DENR, as the lead agency of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), to enhance compliance with the law at the local level, particularly in the metropolis where the garbage problem remains a critical social and environmental issue.

He said he already discussed the fund assistance with Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino and members of Metro Manila Development Council or their representatives during a recent meeting.

Paje said the fund assistance will be covered by an agreement signed by representatives of the DENR, the LGU concerned, and a non-government organization chosen by the LGU to formulate an appropriate ESWM system for subdivisions or condominiums within the city or municipality. 

Paje said among the provisions that will be included in the memorandum of agreement will be for the concerned local government to identify homeowners’ associations of subdivisions and condominiums that will become beneficiaries of the project, based on a selection criteria that will be developed by the NSWMC. 

Under the agreement, the LGU will provide counterpart personnel who will be trained and deputized to enforce the solid waste management law. 

Metro Manila alone generates more than 8,700 tons of garbage a day, which represents around 25 percent of the country’s total daily generation of 35,000 tons, Paje said.