AUTHORITIES said Thursday, August 29, the Higalaay Festival was generally peaceful and successful, but heaps of garbage were left scattered after the Pyro Festival at Pueblo de Oro Business Park Wednesday night, August 28.
Police said around 150,000 people witnessed the Pyro Festival, an event that marked the end of the month-long activities in Cagayan de Oro.
Engineer Armen Cuenca, chief of the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (Clenro), said plastic bottles and food wrappers were observed in the area after the Pyro Festival.
Cuenca said they have noticed that there were no other garbage bins apart from the 10 big trash bins they brought and placed in strategic areas.
He said all the bins were filled with garbage, which may be the reason why other people might have opted to leave their trash elsewhere.
"Actually, private mana nga area. So, ang amo nagdala lang mi og 10 ka dagko nga garbage bins. Pero, napuno siya considering the number of people. Dili gyud siya enough," he said.
Cuenca called on event organizers to coordinate with Clenro so that similar garbage problem can be prevented in the future.
Although, it was observed that the event hosts have repeatedly reminded spectators to follow the "Clean as you go" policy and to dispose garbage properly.
"Atong panawagan sa mga organizers nga part sa ilang responsibility ang pag-see to it nga naay garbage bins. Next time unta naay coordination meeting para ana," Cuenca said.
He also reiterated his reminders to the public that garbage disposal is everyone's responsibility since it is a behavioral problem.
"It's a behavioral problem. Kung dili i-dispose properly ang basura mobalik na sa ato," he added.
Police Major Evan Vinas, spokesperson of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo), said educating people on proper waste disposal needs to be improved in next year's fiesta celebration.
"Atong nabantayan nga ang mga tawo gibyaan lang nila ang ilang basura. Busa, hugaw ang area paghuman," Vinas said.
In terms of security and peace and order, he said no major incident has been recorded apart from some road accidents and physical injury cases.
Vinas said security forces have been successful in ensuring the safety of spectators and revelers who joined and witnessed the core events of the Higalaay Festival.