The Bacolod City Council has approved a resolution directing the IPM-Construction and Development (IPM-CDC), through Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, to intensify garbage collection and promptly clear piles of uncollected garbage in major thoroughfares and around the MassKara Festival sites.
The resolution was authored by Councilor Em Ang, chairperson of the City Council Committee on History, Art, and Culture.
Ang said Bacolod City is celebrating the MassKara Festival and thousands of foreign and domestic visitors and guests have arrived to join the festivities.
She said there are complaints over the uncollected garbage or delayed collection of trash from commercial establishments in the city’s downtown, major thoroughfares frequented by visitors, and at the surrounding areas of the festival sites.
“The influx of tourists and festival goers results in the large generation of waste and can negatively affect the local environment because of the visitors′ increased activities,” she added.
Ang disclosed that the unsightly piles of garbage negatively affect the image of the city as a tourism destination, and inefficient solid waste management may reduce the tourism value of the colorful and highly acclaimed MassKara Festival.*