DAVAO City’s Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) called on the tenants of the Metro Mercado vegetable market in Quirino Avenue, which is owned by the Metro Circle, to settle the problem on the uncollected garbage with the management.
This comes after the tenants’ several complaints on the uncollected garbage which allegedly had been stuck for almost three weeks, as of this writing.
JC Delgado Manlanat, one of the tenants of the vegetable market, personally messaged his complaints on Sunstar Davao's Facebook page.
“Duol kaayo mi dire sa labayanan og basura side lang po sa table namin yung basura last month paning amoy sa basura kasi di nila inubos if garbage collector na magdating dito (Our table is just near where the uncollected garbage are dumped. This had been a problem since last month. The collectors did not collect all the garbage),” he said.
Manlanat said this had caused the canal to be clogged, leaving the stench of the garbage to spread throughout the area.
Some tenants, who opted not to be named, had also shared the same complaints.
One tenant shared that customers would hesitate to come to the market after seeing the uncollected garbage.
Meanwhile, Manlanat said they had already reached out to Cenro but the agency said it is the management's responsibility to address the issue since it is a privately-owned entity.
“Gilapit na namo sa management (Metro Circle) and wala pa namo nakita ilang aksyon regarding this problem (We already addressed this to the management, but we see no action regarding this problem),” he said.
Sunstar Davao reached out to the management of Metro Circle. However, a staff said it is best that the Cenro would answer the matter.
The staff, meanwhile, said that the agency told the management that the collection delays are a result of the rainy season, affecting the collection schedule of the market.
Cenro head Engr. Marivic Reyes, on Friday, admitted the agency cannot immediately collect all garbage collection points due to the huge demand of the collection.
Reyes said that since Metro is a private entity, Cenro is charging collection fees.
The official, however, said that the private market has not settled its payment deficiency for garbage collection.
“Pero in spite of this, wala na kaayo mi nag-inistrikto sa bayad, basta matuman lang namo ang collection sa basura (We loosen our policy on payments as long as we would be able to collect these garbage),” Reyes said.
The official, meanwhile, said the tenants had the right to question the Metro Circle management’s actions since they are also paying for the collection fees on their monthly rent.
She also urged the tenants to do their share by practicing proper waste segregation to avoid the same problem in the future.
“As to the management, dapat naa sila’y tig-check kung kinsay galabay sa ila, if ilaha ba gyud tong tenants or kliyente. Daghan sab gasulti nga naa daw uban na didto na daw galabay sa ilang dapit (As to the management, they should have a man to check those who are actually throwing in the area, if they are really the tenants. There have been reports that non-tenants have been dumping their garbage in these areas as well),” Reyes said.
Liga ng mga Barangay president Edgar Ibuyan Sr., in a previous report, had also criticized Cenro for its lack of action to address the garbage problem of the area.