AFTER Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama gave barangay officials an ultimatum that he does not want to see any more garbage and street dwellers by June 12, some village officials said they share the same urgency in addressing the waste management problem in the city.
Kirk Bryan Repollo, barangay captain of Inayawan, said this has always been a priority for their village. He said this is the reason why they purchased four units of garbage trucks.
“Sa Barangay Inayawan hinuon kay puspus jud atong collection sa basura, mao nga four units of garbage trucks ang atong gipalit para as much as possible, wala jud delay sa atong collection especially sa main line nato,” Repollo said.
(In Barangay Inayawan, we have been collecting garbage from households, that’s why we purchased four units of trucks so as not to delay the collection especially in our main lines.)
Barangay Sambag 2 is also in on Rama’s calls to achieve a litter-free city especially in their area, but there are also concerns on the distance of landfills to the barangay.
“We are doing our best man gyud to collect the garbage. Wala man gud na siya’y problema, ang ato lang gyud issue is layo layo gyud ang landfill,” said Ryan Aznar, barangay captain of Sambag 2.
(We are doing our best to collect the garbage. There’s no problem with it, but our concern is the landfill is located far away from the village.)
He added that because of the transfer station that used to be in Inayawan, the trucks could collect twice per day because they could just dump the garbage and it was hauled from there.
Because of the traffic on the way to the landfill, the garbage trucks of the Sambag 2 could only collect once per day, Aznar said.
Another problem on garbage is litter by the roadsides that they can no longer monitor and control.
The hotspots are closely monitored but Aznar said they cannot really monitor every time, which is why people throw their garbage when the officers and monitors are no longer there.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare Services (DSWS) told SunStar on Wednesday, April 19, that for the street dwellers in the city, they have been taking actions with night and day surveys in the city.
“Ato na siya gitabangan nga ma anam-anam, kay ang kanang uban nga naa sa dalan, taga Cebu City ra jud na, niya naay mga balay,” said Easter Concha, officer-in-charge of DSWS.
(We have worked together to slowly address the issue, as some of the street dwellers are actually from Cebu City and have houses here.)
She added that some of the street dwellers are from neighboring cities, and they are exerting all efforts to clear up the streets even before the June 12 ultimatum set by Rama.
Street dwellers found by the City Government team are transported by the city vehicle to a temporary shelter at the South Road Properties (SRP) area.
“Ang kanang uban nangatog diha daplin sa dalan, ginakuha na sila nato sa Cebu City Government na sakyanan, adto pakatulgon. Adto sila ginapakatulog didto (sa temporary shelter sa SRP),” Concha added.
(Some of those sleeping on the streets, we fetch them using the Cebu City Government vehicle and transfer them to a temporary shelter in SRP.)
Aznar of Barangay Sambag 2 also said that for actions on the street dwellers along the roads, the barangay will be extending their assistance and help to the city as much as they can. (EKV)
