I THINK the City Government is doing its best to address the garbage collection problem but I too think that its best is not enough. I suggest that whoever is in-charge now has to revisit how the previous city administration worked out solutions for the mounting garbage problems we have these days. Let me put it bluntly. Whatever Cenro is doing today is not working, so better go back to whatever the system used before for it is the one that seems to work.
But Mayor Inday Sara is correct when she ordered that the garbage bins be accounted for. As I pointed out earlier, the barangay officials who are supposed to have taken care of these expensive garbage receptacles are simply not mindful of the responsibility. Take note that this was even made an election issue by the Nograles camp. But then of course the perception was that when negative commentary comes from that camp, this is as polluted as the garbage issue itself. Nevertheless, Mayor Inday should seriously follow through with her directives for something is not right in the way garbage collection is being done these days. Remember, one of the things we are proud of is the tag that Davao City is the cleanest city in the country.
Last May, my family entertained some guests from Modesto, California. The first impression they had was the city is so clean. They also took notice of the garbage bins all over the city. Well... that was May.
If I may suggest my two cents worth of idea, maybe we should look at the allocation of garbage bins. In some places, there are just too many while too few in others. Somewhere in Sta. Ana Elementary School near the DASIA in Damaso Suazo St., the garbage bins are just piled in a heap. Somewhere in Phase IV Ecoland Subdivision, empty bins are lying on the side. Who knows some of these have become breeding ground for dengue mosquitoes? This site is repeated all over. Vandals have stolen the wheels of most of the bins and no one ever went to jail or was hailed to the police station for this.
I thought the barangays get some share of tax revenues generated from their localities. So how come we do not see any hand of barangay officials in garbage management? In Bankerohan, pineapple peelings are stocked for so long the acid that ooze from the uncollected waste had eaten up the bottoms of the bins.
As if this is not bad enough the garbage collectors just do not take care about the receptacles too. They throw the bins like these can withstand the impact forever. It never occurred to them that each bin cost more than twice their salary.
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By the way, Doming Duerme, PAL's VP for Mindanao and president of the Notre Dame Alumni Association, is inviting all Notredamers to attend the annual Notre Dame Day celebration which will be held at the Mandaya Hotel, Davao City, on September 11. The event will start with a mass at 5 p.m. to be officiated by Archbishop Orlando Quevedo and followed later by the induction of the new set of officers of the association. Come in your smart casual. See you there.