THE Cebu City Council has called for the swift establishment of material recovery facilities (MRFs) in all barangays to address the city’s ongoing waste management crisis.
The move comes in response to a recent Commission on Audit (COA) report that criticized the city’s lack of progress in waste diversion and recycling.
In a resolution authored by Councilor Rey Gealon, the council on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, requested the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) to develop a comprehensive action plan for the establishment of fully functional MRFs in all barangays.
Summit
The council also urged Cenro to conduct a solid waste management summit to gather government officials and private stakeholders to discuss innovative solutions to the city’s garbage problem.
It also pressed Cenro to activate and operationalize the existing MRFs in Barangays Taptap and Basak Pardo.
Assistance
Councilor Franklyn Ong, president of the Association of Barangay Councils, said there is a need for financial and technical assistance from the City to help barangays comply with Republic Act 9003 (the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000), which mandates the establishment of MRFs in every barangay or cluster of barangays.
For his part, Councilor Phillip Zafra saod the Solid Waste Management Board has been coordinating with the ABC to address the long-overdue establishment of MRFs and suggested clustering barangays to make the process more efficient.
The COA report highlighted the city’s failure to utilize funds allocated for MRF construction in 2022 and 2023. It also criticized the city for not fully implementing a 2011 grant from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for the establishment of three MRFs.
In response to the COA findings, the council urged the full implementation of the DILG grant and called for a massive information, education, and communication campaign on waste segregation. / JPS