EDITORIAL — Something fowl, something foul

As per a news report in our sister publication BANAT News, between 200 to 300 kilos of chicken meat were found dumped in a lot in Purok 5, Sitio Bungan, Barangay Cambinocot, Cebu City.

The meat had already started to rot, which was what led nearby residents to notice something foul.

According to Cambinocot Councilman Adones Atuel, the meat was discovered by residents last May 23. He also said that based on their investigation, a meat van was seen heading to the area the night before. They suspect that the people in the van dumped the meat.

They are still trying to determine who was responsible for dumping the meat, but the footage they obtained from closed-circuit television cameras was too grainy to definitively identify the van’s license plates.

There’s no doubt that what was done constitutes a crime, but we can also decry how some people can be so selfish when it comes to charity and so irresponsible when it comes to the environment.

For one, the chicken could have been given away before it spoiled. A few kilos of chicken meat can already feed a family. Imagine how many families 200 or 300 kilos of chicken can feed. These could have helped many people, especially families that cannot afford chicken often.

Was the meat no longer fit for human consumption? Even meat that’s no longer safe for people to eat has other uses.

For another, the meat could have been disposed of properly. Just dumping regular trash where it’s no supposed to go is bad enough already. This is meat; when it rots it gets stinky, it attracts rats, flies, and other vermin that can become vectors for disease, and it can produce leachate that gets into the soil.

It should have been incinerated. Clearly, the ones looking to get rid of it didn’t want the additional cost.

Obviously, our attitude toward trash --that in whatever form we can just throw it anywhere we want and just forget about it-- still persists.

This goes without saying that those who are responsible for this act must be found and made to pay for what they have done.