The pollution of the 1950s in Cebu City

Unlike today where the pollution is the smoke belching emitted by vehicles plying the streets, in the past it was caused by animal manures.

The Cebu City council on March 6, 1958 on motion of Councilor Florencio S. Urot, seconded by Joaquin L. Panis enacted City Ordinance No. 241, entitled "An Ordinance providing for the elimination of manures from city streets and for other purposes".

According to the city council, at that time there were vehicle-drawing animals (tartanillas) estimated to be no less than five thousand (5,000) and were littering the public highways and streets with their manures.

That the manure of vehicle-drawing animals were scattered throughout the length of public highways and streets rendered the city unsightly and unsanitary.

That it was said that the manure discharged by the tartanillas, especially by horses whose discharges were estimated to be no less than 5,000 kilos a day (one kilo for each of the 5,000 horses). It was considered to be a menace to the health of the people of Cebu City, because manure of horses when dried and pulverized are blown and mixed with the air breathed by the people.

Leading citizens and outstanding civic organizations have endorsed unconditionally the passage of an ordinance that would eliminate manure from the city streets. In answer, the city council passed an ordinance requiring the driver of the tartanilla to bring or carry any proper receptacle adequate enough for the keeping of the manure.

The driver was required to pick up, gather and deposit in the receptacle the manure emitted or discharged in any part of the public highways or streets. The ordinance further provides that no license shall be granted unless the owner of the tartanilla shall provide with the proper receptacle. The ordinance provides a penalty of one peso to five pesos and suspension of the licenses of both the driver and the animal drawn vehicle for the first offense. For the second offense, the fine was five pesos to ten pesos, for the third offense it was fine of not less than ten pesos to P20.00 and the indefinite suspension of the licenses of the driver and the animal drawn vehicle.

The members of the city council were not unanimous in the passage of the ordinance, Councilors Florencio Urot, Joaquin Panis, Generoso Jaca, Osmundo G. Rama, and Casimiro Madarang voted in favor of the ordinance while Councilors Pedro B. Clavano and Cecilio dela Victoria voted against the passage of the ordinance.

The ordinance was approved by Mayor Ramon Duterte on May 7, 1958, the secretary to the mayor was Atty. Mario D. Ortiz who also became city mayor, while the acting president (Vice Mayor) was Carlos J. Cuizon, who also became city mayor.

(P.S. Addendum to the Vicente Rama Avenue column:  The other two children of Don Vicente Rama were Dario, who became a lawyer and served as Assistant Fiscal of Mandaue City and married Rosario Dondoyano and Miguel who married Milagros Lumain. (Thanks to Imelda Rama for the information.)