THE Bacolod City Council approved a resolution requesting the City Mayor's Office to direct all 61 barangays to establish a materials recovery facility (MRF) as provided by law.
The resolution, authored by Councilor Carlos Jose Lopez, stated that Section 32 of Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 provides the establishment of local government unit (LGU) MRF where there shall be an established MRF in every barangay or cluster of barangays.
Lopez said RA 9003 was passed into law on January 26, 2001.
He said the law further provides that the facility shall be established in a barangay-owned, leased land or any suitable open space to be determined by the barangay through its sanggunian.
"For this purpose, the barangay or cluster of barangays shall allocate a certain parcel of land for MRF which will facilitate no excuses in the implementation of segregation of waste at site," he added.
Meanwhile, the City Council also approved a resolution earnestly requesting Mayor Evelio Leonardia to appropriate funds for the implementation of City Ordinance (CO) 495, series of 2008.
Lopez, who authored the resolution, said CO 495 or an ordinance setting aside the amount of P1 million annually for the host barangay of the city's waste disposal facility and providing funds thereof was passed on May 13, 2009.
He said Section 4 or the appropriation clause of the said ordinance provides that the amount of at least P1 million annually shall be provided to the host barangay of the city's solid waste disposal facility upon approval of the said ordinance. Provided, the said amount is subject to upward adjustment every two years after its implementation to be determined by the City Council.
He added the present disposal facility of the city is located in Barangay Felisa.
Section 5 of the ordinance provides that the appropriated amount is to be exclusively utilized by the host barangay for health, environment and livelihood programs.
"We ask that it be provided with P6 million this year. It is necessary that funds provided by the City Mayor to ensure the safety and well-being of the inhabitants of the host barangay as to health, environment and livelihood concerns," Lopez said.