CEBU, Philippines — Dried fish production by the Kinalumsan River between barangays Duljo Fatima and Mambaling, Cebu City is at risk of being shut down because of tons of garbage that residents do not seem to mind.
They must take responsibility in cleaning the area if they want their means of livelihood to continue.
The situation came to light after the City Government's Coastal Management Board (CMB) and the Sugbo Bike Lanes Board conducted a clean-up drive there over the weekend and found a sea of garbage right by the very spot used for the sun drying of fishes to make buwad (dried fish)
SBLB Executive Director Bernard Maraasin said the cleanup was prompted by a The FREEMAN social media post on the tons of garbage in the said area.
The post featured the voluminous garbage in the area, a day after the City Government's city-wide clean-up, and a few residents' plea for City Hall intervention over the long-time garbage problem.
Maraasin said that in fairness to the residents, the still undetermined tonnage of garbage there are not solely the doing of the residents, as the trash also includes those carried to there from upstream of the river.
The area, he said, acts like a “catch basin”, so that no matter how much it is cleaned, garbage still accumulates there.
Added to that, Maraasin said, the concerned barangays also contributed to the situation because they learned that there is no regular garbage collection in the area, which forces residents to add their own garbage to the river-borne trash.
“Grabe gyud…grabe ka daghan sa basura didtong lugara.... After namo na-survey ang area pag Wednesday, naka-decide kong sugdan na dayon namo pag-Saturday (yesterday) pero wa pa gyud mi nahuman. Pwerteng daghana gyud,” he said.
What alarms them is that aside from the tons of trash, fish are dried right next to the them, which is very unsanitary.
“Naay daghang buwad didto.... Buwaran, tapad sa basura. Ngil-ara gyud,” Maraasin said.
He said they immediately called the attention of those involved in the production of dried fish in the area to help in the cleanup, else their structures would be demolished.
“Naay mga nagbuwad, among gipatawag, among giingnan, 'di gani mo moduol diha amo ning i-demolish ning buwaran,” he said.
Maraasin said a Cebu City Health Department representative, who was with the CMB and SBLB personnel during their cleanup, attested to the unsanitary condition of the dried fish production process there.
“Giistoryahan nga 'wala biya moy sanitary permit , ang inyong gihimo unsanitary kaayo nas tanan'. Laliman ka'g tapad ra ang basura sa buwaran… Dapat dakupon gani. Maong naghinlo na sila'g sugod,” he said.
He told The FREEMAN that at the time of the interview yesterday afternoon, several truck-loads of garbage had already been collected, but they were still far from over.
He likewise said that he hoped the situation is an eye opener for other City Hall departments for their personnel to be sincere in participating in the quarterly cleanups and not just be at their assigned locations for picture-taking purposes.
He likewise hoped for the City's Task Force Gubat sa Baha officials to take a closer look at the situation in the barangays. (CEBU NEWS)