Cleanup yields 200 sacks of trash in Davao coastal village

DAVAO CITY (PIA) — A coastal cleanup organized by the Environment Management Bureau in Davao Region (EMB-11) yielded two hundred sacks of solid waste in Barangay 23-C in this city.

Alnulfo Alvarez, officer-in-charge and chief of the Environment Management and Enforcement Division of EMB-11,  observed that there was a problem with the generation of wastes coming from and going into the barangay.

Alvarez noticed that not all garbage emanated from the barangay since most of the wastes that accumulated in the area were brought in by the tide.

He said there was also a problem in the orientation of the informal settlers in the area who lack sanitary facilities in disposing their wastes.

“This is a big problem in the barangay since the informal settlers comprise two hundred families of Badjao community.  If every household generates two kilos of garbage, everyday they generate four hundred kilos of garbage, and they have problems with the disposal,” he said.

Alvarez said the head of Barangay 23-C had expressed difficulty on how to discipline the villagers.

He said the situation entails intervention from the local government of Davao City and the national government. 

“It will be a concerted effort on how to address this problem,” Alvarez said.

He said the barangay government proposed to cover a portion of the community with landfill after it found that the garbage underneath the houses measures as high as more than five feet.

Alvarez also cited the need for engineering interventions to address the garbage problem of the barangay.

Barangay 23-C Chair Alimodin Usman Al Haj said the local government was not negligent in its duty as it has regularly reminded the people to maintain cleanliness in their respective areas.

He even introduced the idea of exchanging garbage with a kilo of rice during the start of his term as barangay chair.

But Usman said the scheme did not work because it promoted a culture of laziness in the community as people cooperated in the proper disposal of their garbage only when rice was available.

Usman proposed the use of land fill in the dirtiest portions of the barangay since garbage has accumulated there for decades.

“I ask the help of the local and national governments in addressing this problem especially the in the engineering aspect,” Usman said. 

Alvarez expressed his appreciation to the support extended to the coastal cleanup.

Held in commemoration of the World Water Day, the “Davao Region: Walk on Waters” cleanup was conducted in cooperation with the local government of Barangay 23-C, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Police Maritime Office in Davao City. (PIA-11)

 

News Feed:

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1020121
Latest News | Philippine Information Agency