It’s also a resident’s job

BANKEROHAN is a place where many people earn a living. It is the city's biggest marketplace teeming with vendors of all kinds.

Davaoenos go to Bankerohan to purchase their different needs, mainly for food and business. It is the most visited market in the city because first of all, you can find almost everything you’re looking for in a market there; and second, the goods they sell are extremely affordable.

Despite its abundance in business and commerce, Bankerohan also has its downsides. The roads are steep, which makes it a flood prone area. Not to mention, it is also located near the Davao river.

As you walk by the streets of Bankerohan, you will see loads of trash. Many would say that it is normal for a wet market to be messy, however, what they are usually selling are goods which will soon be eaten by its buyers. It is important for the sellers to maintain the cleanliness of their environment so as to sell sterile goods and products.

“Kung mag-ulan, mag-overflow jud na diri pero pagka ugma mawala ra pud. Tungod jud ni siya sa basura (Whenever it rains, it really overflows (flood), but the next day it will be gone. This is because of the garbage),” Nonoy, a resident of Bankerohan, said.

It is noticeable how the canals are clogged with garbage. Some areas in the lower parts are flooded even without rain.

“Naa man tig maintenance diri. Pero dili tanang dapita ang malimpyohan (We have maintenance workers here, but not every area is cleaned)," Jocelyn Andres, a vegetable vendor, complained.

In the Philippines, the Republic Act No. 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act has been implemented since the year 2000. It is “an act providing for an ecological solid waste management program, creating the necessary institutional mechanisms and incentives, declaring certain acts prohibited and providing penalties, appropriating funds therefor, and for other purposes.”

The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) is a government office which also functions for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Their main mission is making Davao City clean and green.

The Cenro is also committed to the Solid Waste Management Act. They implement framework plan for effective solid waste management for the city, they implement plans and programs for the benefit of solid waste collectors and for Sewerage Management System, they conduct public education programs on solid waste management, and many more.

“Ginapa operation-an man namo nag anti-littering. Naa nay tig inspect mao na malimpyo na paghawa nila ana, expecting na okay na ang kahimtang, balik na sad ang problema (We had an anti-littering operation. We assigned somebody to inspect which was why later on, the area became clean. When they stopped the inspection, expecting that the situation was already handled, the problem retreated once again),” said Engineer Lakandiwa Orculla, the Information Education Campaign Head of Cenro.

With this type of problem, people cannot always blame the government. Sometimes, their own actions are the only cause of their problems. It is undeniable that many Filipinos still lack the discipline, especially on solid waste management concerns.

The government has been helping non-stop to promote a better environment, conducting different environmental plans and programs, including CENRO’s yearly Ecofest, National Clean-up Day, and even their district meetings and orientations. However, this will not work without the cooperation of the people. If people will only follow the rules for the reason of avoiding the penalty, then the problem will never be solved and will just continue to occur all over again.

“The purok leader is the one to conduct proper dissemination to their purok centers,” Orculla said, pertaining to the role of the barangay or purok leaders in encouraging the residents to avoid littering.

Yes, it is literally the maintenance workers’ job to clean the surroundings. However, it should also be an instinctive obligation for the residents, including the sellers, to clean their areas and throw their wastes in their proper segregation bins.

They should not be negligent when it comes solving this problem because this issue itself is a concern of theirs, not just of the government. At the same time, the government and leaders should also be constantly available and accommodating to the concerns of the residents. This way, it would be much easier to solve the problems of the community.