Editorial - Suing over garbage does not solve the problem

Environmentalist groups are threatening to sue those who violate laws pertaining to the disposal and collection of garbage. The question, however, is this: Will suing violators at this point help solve the problem in a substantial and meaningful way?

For being ever vigilant in face of widespread public apathy concerning environmental concerns, these environmentalist groups naturally deserve to be commended. But we do not believe court litigation will bring us to where we ought to be going environmentally.

To be sure, a lot of people, most of them government officials, are guilty of both actual violation of environmental laws and gross negligence and lack of common sense. Their guilt is so apparent one does not have to go to court to know it.

But what good will going to court do? All that can be derived from going to court and winning a sure conviction is the satisfaction that people paid the price for their violation and neglect. Court victories do not bring us anywhere near to solving the real problem.

And the real problem now staring us in the face in this city is that we no longer have a place to dispose of the 400 tons of garbage we produce daily nor the means to mitigate its impact on the community.

It is a problem that cannot be solved by going to court. In fact it is a problem that can only be exacerbated if we send everybody to jail. By the time the offenders come out, we will all be up to our necks in filth, including the environmentalists themselves.

Again, we would like to commend our environmentalist friends for their concern and vigilance. But we simply cannot see the point in going to court at this time when the call of the moment is for everybody to simply work on their garbage because government cannot do it anymore.

The environmentalists cannot beat a dead horse back to life. What is needed is a new horse, and our environmentalists friends can do better where they are needed the most — help in the renewal of character, the emergence of a new Cebuano.