Dumping sewer waste in rivers/Isolation units/ Cruelty to dogs

CITY HALL BEAT

Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- Mayor Benjamin Magalong warned residents discharging excrement and septic tank waste materials into rivers and other waterways saying they are culpable for violation of environmental laws.
    The mayor said the Baguio City Police Office under Col. Francisco Bulwayan Jr. had been tasked to investigate, monitor and apprehend violators.
    The City Environment and Parks Management Office has a total of 370 households and establishments had been caught illegally discharging wastewater and other discards like grease and used oil into the city’s waterways in 2022.
    Assistant City Environment and Parks Management Officer Marivic Empizo said all of them were issued notices of violations and were subjected to follow-through monitoring.
    Violators included households and establishments with leaking or overflowing septic tanks.  Others were illegal piggeries directly discharging wastewater to the sewer or canals and establishments that dump grease and used oil into the sewer.
    CEPMO head lawyer Rhenan Diwas said these are all in violation of the city’s Environment Code, Republic Act 8749 or the Clean Air Act, Republic Act 9275 or the Philippine Water Act and Republic Act 9904 or the Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners Associations.  Dumping of grease and used oil in the city's storm drains meanwhile constitutes violation of Republic Act 6969 or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990.
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With the closure of the Baguio City Community Isolation Unit (BCCIU) at the Sto. Nino Hospital effective Feb. 1, 2023, barangays were tasked to set up their own isolation facilities to cater to constituents who cannot provide their own home isolation.
    Mayor Magalong in memorandum no. 11-2023 dated Jan. 25, 2023 to the barangays reiterated the requirement to put up barangay isolation units to serve the isolation needs of residents with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) who do not have suitable areas for said purpose.
    The mayor said this is in compliance with Dept. of Health Administrative Order No. 2021-0043 entitled “Omnibus Guidelines on the Minimum Public Health Standards for the Sale Reopening of Institutions” specifically VI.C.3.a. which states “Asymptomatic and mild cases shall be admitted and isolated in Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities (TTMFs), community-based facilities or in their homes as long as they meet the criteria for home quarantine or isolation.”
    “Since the hospital beds used (in isolation units) had been distributed to the different agencies and barangays, it is highly directed for the recipients to set up their own isolation facilities before February 2023 to accommodate their constituents who test positive for Covid-19 and who do not have homes conducive for isolation,” the mayor said.
    He asked the barangays to contact the City Health Services Office for any technical assistance needed in setting up their units.  
    Medical Officer IV Dr. Maria Alice Torres who had been in charge of the city-run quarantine and isolation facilities said the cessation of operations of the BCCIU was decided after the facility did not receive new admissions for Covid-19 cases the past two weeks.
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Putting animals in vehicle trunks for travel constitutes violation of the provision of the Animal Welfare Act of 1990.
City Veterinarian Dr. Silardo Bested issued this reminded to a bus company operating in the city after receiving a report last Jan. 27, 2023 on a dog allegedly loaded in the trunk of one of its buses.
    “Please be reminded of the provision of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998) as amended by Republic Act 10631, Section 4, Rule 4.1 (Cruelty in Transportation),” Bested noted in his letter to the bus company.
    “Cruelty in transportation shall include overcrowding, putting the animals in the trunk, under the hood, top load, or hanging the same is an unsafe, uncomfortable condition or situation.”
    He advised the company to also comply with the guidelines on pet transport as provided in Memorandum Circular 2020-003 of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
    As per the memorandum, pets are in allowed in public utility vehicles (PUVs) subject to the following conditions:
    *These animals are put inside carriers/cages and placed at designated animal compartment of the PUV, should there be other passengers inside the PUV.
    *If there are no other passengers, pets may be allowed to be carried by the owner as long as said animals are free from foul odor and that the owner maintains cleanliness and sanitation.
    Further, the possessor or pet owner shall be responsible for the damage that the pet may cause, including the cleaning and sanitation of the PUV, as may be necessary.
    *Safety, convenience and comfort of the passengers shall not in any way be sacrificed.