Benguet, Baguio officials at odds over garbage row

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY — Local officials here and nearby province of Benguet are now engaged in a series of mudslinging over how to solve the worsening garbage problem in the city for over a year now which has also affected the image of the vegetable-producing province.

The exchange of ideas between Baguio and Benguet officials stemmed from an earlier pronouncement of Mayor Reinaldo A. Bautista Jr. imputing the non-cooperation of provincial and municipal officials on how to solve the city’s garbage woes since they are reportedly blocking efforts by the city government to convince willing municipal governments to host its engineered sanitary landfill.

Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan said the problem with city officials is they work via remote control and refuse to continuously consult with provincial and municipal officials so that they could thresh out possible solutions to the desire of the city to put up its sanitary landfill in any part of Benguet.

While they recognize their commitment to abide by the realization of the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT) growth center being initiated by the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera, he pointed out the garbage concern and other problems caused by rapid urbanization cannot be solved in one sitting or by remote control, thus, the need for city officials to better shape up or they will wake up one morning without the support from their neighbors.

For his part, La Trinidad Mayor Artemio Galwan said it is unfair for Bautista to accuse people from Benguet as the major source of garbage in the city, explaining it could also happen that the garbage being dumped in his town come from residents of the city who frequent their place.

Instead of convincing them to support the city government formulate solutions to their problems, Galwan emphasized city officials are now antagonizing them, thus, they might reconsider their commitment to support the BLIST growth area.

Earlier, several property owners from Sitio Alimang, Poblacion, Sablan, Benguet offered to the city government the use of their 22-hectare property as a site for the city’s long overdue engineered sanitary landfill.