BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon
Garbage, officials and environment

While Baguio City officials say they want more tourists to perk up its economy, visitors are literally being driven away by the unsightly sight and stench of piles of garbage on roadsides. Even Session Road, considered the showpiece of the former cleanest and greenest city in the country, a hall of famer at that, is no exception.

Much had been written about the garbage. But talks persist there is no solution to the problem in the immediate future. Local officials are saying city coffers are hard-pressed meeting daily payments for transport of the trash to Central Luzon.

The thinking of the executives, it seems, is that the only solution to the mess is a huge landfill. An area is being eyed at Mt. Sto Tomas but before anybody could dump garbage there, it would take a long process like having consultations with local folk and procurement of an environmental compliance certificate. This as the garbage piles up and the stench becomes more unbearable.

The idea of a zero-waste management program in the city is just that – an idea. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo earlier asked local government officials to adopt more affordable and viable methods of implementing effectively the government’s solid waste management program. The President said there are cheaper and practical ways LGUs can adapt in solving garbage problems in their respective areas.

The Chief Executive proposed establishment of material recovery facilities (MRF) for areas that do not yet have a sanitary landfill, to solve waste disposal problems. “If you don’t have a sanitary landfill, I am proposing a big MRF as substitute compliance that can help sort out and process the garbage in the open dumpsite,” she said. “When there is no land for sanitary landfill, let us plan for barangay level MRF.”

The MRF approach to solid waste management is much cheaper compared to sanitary landfill, the President said, citing as example the P10-million cost of Cotabato City ’s MRF which can serve the city’s 37 barangays.Under the 60-40 LGU-national government sharing, Cotabato City will only shoulder P6-million while the national government will contribute P4 million.

The Chief Executive also proposed the use of charcoal briquetting machines as another solution to solid waste management. “With such machines, it is easier to address the garbage problem rather than spending millions of pesos in dumpsites at the barangay level.”

According to Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Manuel Gerochi, one charcoal briquetting machine costs P63,500, much cheaper compared to other solid waste management systems. The machine is a simple energy- and money-saving device used in converting biodegradable waste and other organic materials into solid fuel briquettes.

Aside from reducing volume of wastes to be disposed, Gerochi said, charcoal briquetting also helps eliminate or minimize use of forest products as raw materials for charcoal like wood. “Charcoal briquetting can also serve as an additional or alternative livelihood project to help alleviate poverty,“ Gerochi said.

With a production capacity of 300 kilograms per day, he said, briquetting can generate substantial earnings. Local Government Units are mandated to comply with Republic Act 9003, otherwise known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. As to the next step Baguio officials will take to get the trash out from the streets, that remains to be seen.
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In a related development, Ramon Dacawi, chief information officer of the Baguio City government and my neighbor in this corner invited me to sing during Earth Day celebrations Wednesday at the city jail along with Brian Aliping, March Fianza, lawyer Bubut Olarte, Prosecutor Rolly Vergara among others but unfortunately, I was not able to make it.

So to make up, with or without the garbage, I would like to cite some facts, figures and “speculations” on the environment by government officials who said the Philippines is gaining headway in its bid to meet by 2015 the United Nations Millenium Development Goal (MDG) of ensuring environmental sustainability nationwide.

According to National Economic Development Authority Director Erlinda Capones who recently reported this matter at the 10th National Convention on Statistics at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City, the country will likely meet such goal.

MDGs are time-bound and measurable targets which UN member-countries committed to meet so poverty, hunger, diseases, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women can be addressed.

Capones presented data available as of September 2007 on the country’s “progress” in making sustainable development principles as part of its policies and programs on reversing loss of environmental resources.

The data showed proportion of the country’s urban population with access to improved sanitation already exceeded the MDG goal of 83.8 percent as this soared from 67.6 percent (1990) to 86.2 percent (2004).

Proportion of Philippine population with sustainable access also improved water source jumped from 73 percent (1990) to 80.2 percent (2004) which is about 6.3 percent below the 86.5 percent MDG target by 2015.

While that of forest-covered land nationwide rose to 23.9 percent (2003) from 20.5 percent (1990) while area protected to maintain bio-diversity increased to 12.7 percent (2006) from 8.5 percent (1990) of the Philippines’ total surface area.

Data also indicated that consumption of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons dipped to 681 tons (2006) from 2,981 tons (1990) and proportion of households using solid fuels for cooking decreased to 42.1 percent (203) from 66.2 percent (1990).

Capones also identified ways to accelerate implementation of MDG-related programs and projects. These include curbing high population growth rate, improving agricultural performance, boosting efforts to push reforms on basic education and health and ensuring transparency and accountability in government transactions.

She also said strengthening local government units’ capacity to deliver basic services and bolstering government’s links with other nations and the private sector are needed to accelerate the Philippines’ bid to meet MDG goals.