The Binaliw Saga

Thanks to Councilor Nestor Archival who called for an Executive Session of the Cebu City Council to deliberate on and find solutions for the complaints of the Binaliw residents.

Together with Councilors Joel Garganera, Mary Ann de los Santos, Pastor Alcover Jr., and Jerry Guardo, and Presiding Officer, Dondon Hontiveros, these officials stayed on long after lunch time to get/clarify information and data from various resources persons in order to find solutions for the Binaliw complaints.

Refer to https://www.facebook.com/SPCebuCity for a recorded full coverage of that September 3 Executive Session.

These Cebu City officials directly heard the plight of a Sta. Ana, Binaliw resident affected by the baho/bangaw/basura in their community.

“Morag kadaku og kabaw” was how this Binaliw resident described the bangaw that would land on their food cover. She said they could no longer see the color of their food cover because it was entirely surrounded by the swarm of bangaw that landed on it.

A retired military officer next took the stand to share how his and a neighbor’s were the only houses in Woodland – no other takers because of the Binaliw basura stench.

Contaminated/foul smelling water was another complaint related to the Binaliw basura presented by the resource person from Barangay Panoypoy of a neighboring town, Consolacion.

The Basura ordeal is not just confined to Binaliw in Cebu City but has affected, involved other neighboring communities and towns as well.

One resource person confirmed that the basura allowed for disposal at the Binaliw “landfill” came not only from Cebu City but from Mandaue, Compostela even.

What should have been a landfill built with specifications to contain the volume, smell and other attendant problems related to basura was allowed to operate without proper monitoring and regulation by authorized agencies and offices.

Why and how could the Binaliw basura problem persist or be allowed to continue from 2017 till now by authorities?

Couldn’t they hear previous and persistent loud cries and protests of Binaliw residents about basura/baho/bangaw, including contaminated water from atabays which formerly provided their clean water for laundry and washing?

Will the problem of contaminated/dirty/smelly water in Barangay Panoypoy, Consolacion also be finally heard and resolved?

“Not from us but from a quarry,” according to the resource person from Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. (PIWSI), the present operator of the Materials Recovery Facility/Sanitary Landfill in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City.

Drone data and a video were presented to question the quarry source contention.

The results of separate water samples taken respectively by PIWSI with DENR and by the team of Councilor Joel Garganera forwarded to the Water Resource Center of the University of San Carlos, hopefully, will determine conclusively the source of water contamination and stench in Barangay Panoypoy.

The importance of data related to the basura disposed of and handled by PIWSI was strongly emphasized by several city officials.

Councilors Archival and Garganera have extracted the commitment of the PIWSI resource person to provide requested data on certain agreed deadlines. These officials also expressed their disappointment about previous requested data not delivered as promised by PIWSI.

The total daily volume of waste from Cebu city and its barangays is one crucial data required.

The Cebu City’s Department of Public Services shared that its inspector/checker in Binaliw has no access to such data because they are not allowed access to the weighbridge inside the PIWSI compound.

The PIWSI resource’s information, in contrast, shared that the DPS personnel witness and sign the daily data of disposed waste weighed upon entry and upon exit from PIWSI in Binaliw.

A recommendation for Cebu City to install its own independent weighing bridge was raised in the session.

Many issues, truths, actions to reconcile, uncover, resolve, implement.

Will the Binaliw basura ordeal end soonest, with benefits for the people, community and the environment?