Tuesday, October 28, 2008 Seares: Stench at SRP By Pachico A. Seares News Sense
IF IT hadn’t been for Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s complaint about stench reaching Cebu City’s South Road Properties (SRP), few people would have known that:
(a) the city landfill stinks, not to high heavens but a place closer, the highly touted real estate near it, the SRP; and
(b) the City has deputy mayors to handle serious and pressing problems like the landfill’s foul smell.
Two hours before his first surgery, Mayor Tomas called City Hall and ordered Augustus Pe Jr., deputy mayor for landfill, to remove the foul smell.
Junpe promptly flew to Ligao City in Albay which is billed as the only odorless landfill in the country. And Ligao expert Mariano Garcia Jr. last Friday visited Cebu City to check the local problem.
The visitor promised the smell will be removed a half hour after granules and powder are applied to the dumped garbage, with a filtration system to neutralize toxins causing the odor.
‘To-do’ list
If true as advertised, that will solve at least one problem of Mayor Tomas, leaving in his “to-do” list (a) Capitol’s designs on Tesda and zoo lots and (b) the governor’s hint of a return fight after he gets well.
One bugging concern though: During the 30 minutes before the deodorizer takes effect, will the stench be there, at half-hour intervals, everytime garbage is dumped?
As to cost, that may only be a tiny fraction of the millions of pesos long promised to come flooding from SRP.
And while they’re at it, this naming of deputy mayors for the City’s big problems, they may as well appoint a deputy mayor for street potholes.
Street potholes oppress just as severely as the landfill smell.
