Legal office told to address littering

Thursday, January 19, 2012

THE Bacolod City Council passed a resolution urging the Composite Enforcement Unit of the City Legal Office to strictly implement and monitor the city's Anti-Littering Ordinance of Bacolod City.

City Ordinance 531, which was passed by the Sangguniang Panlungsod on March 23, 2011, prohibits the littering of plastics, papers or any other refuse in open or public places, waterways and recreational areas in Bacolod City and provides penalties for violation thereof.

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The ordinance is consistent with Section 48 (1) of Republic Act No. 9003 or the "Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000", which provides that the littering, throwing, dumping of waste matters in public places, such as roads, sidewalks, canals, esteros or parks and establishments are prohibited including the causing or permitting of the same.

Section 8 of City Ordinance 531 provides that there shall be formed an Anti Littering Task Force, which shall be composed of three enforcers each from the Composite Enforcement Unit of the City Legal Office, the Department of Public Services and the Environment and Natural Resources Office. The Anti-littering Task force shall be jointly supervised by the head of the Composite Enforcement Unit and the chief of the ENRO. The Task Force shall be responsible for the strict implementation of this ordinance.

It has been observed that there is widespread dumping of garbage and mindless littering of wastes in several road sides, vacant lots, waterways, public places and barangays in Bacolod City.

In order to promote a clean and healthy environment, every individual must cultivate the habit of proper waste disposal, stop dumping garbage into drainages and water bodies that could result in flooding, and discontinue dumping garbage in vacant or open and public places that could not only cause pollution but at the same time pose serious health hazards.