TODAY, WE ALSO MAKE HISTORY!

SOMETHING SMELLS

By Alan S. Gensoli

Welcome to Something Smells, the column of the Bacolod Anti-Baha Alliance that will run three times a week, MWF. So first off, we would like to thank the Editorial Board of the Negros Daily Bulletin for giving us space. Considering how some media have been hushed for carrying our cause, this column is much needed breathing space. Alas, something smells.

The Bacolod Anti-Baha Alliance, or Baha, is a non-political organization of citizens concerned about the worsening flooding problem of the city. We aim to impel our local government to implement the following flood-mitigating solutions: construction of new floodways and rehabilitation of old waterways; the dignified resettlement of illegal dwellers who have been allowed by government to build structures on our waterways and pollute it with their garbage; and the education of all towards the practice of solid waste management.

In order for us to bring the matter about flooding to the consciousness of everyone, the Baha has decided to take on this column. Nine members have signed up to write, taking turns. We are Gigi Campos, Agnes Jalandoni, Ma-e Jalandoni, Lourdes Ledesma, Sally Ledesma, Tina Monfort, Nena Rossello, Marilyn Soliven, and myself. More will be joining us soon.

For this maiden column, let me attempt to bring you up to speed on the three flood-mitigating efforts mentioned earlier. These updates are not meant to be complete. We will be chewing on them in future columns.

Bacolod has over a dozen natural waterways. Through the years, these have become obstructed. Illegal structures straddle the waterways, including squatter homes and buildings, too. Latest survey estimates that there are less than five rivers and streams functioning.

Meanwhile, the P18 Million floodway project in Banago is a third of the way done. When we visited the project a month ago, I observed that the construction of the length of the floodway is interrupted by illegal homes that have yet to be vacated and demolished. Because of this, there are at least three floodway portions that have yet to be connected. In effect, instead of one long floodway, we now have Jurassic-size bath tubs with stagnant, dirty water. A rise in the incidence of dengue in the area should not surprise us then. Mind you, these illegal structures that remain along the path of the floodway have been declared nuisance, and some of its residents have received financial assistance to leave. One of our writers, Nena Rosello, sits in the flood control committee. She and our other writers will have more to tell you, including how these illegal dwellers are able to dwell illegally, complete with Baciwa connections. Indeed, something smells.

Meanwhile, Agnes Jalandoni, who sits in the housing committee, is raring to share stories about the city’s efforts to resettle illegal dwellers. By way of sneak preview, I am told that some illegal dwellers in Banago have been allowed to resettle themselves by the shoreline, it would seem, just waiting to be swept away by a sudden rise in sea level. Others have been given lots in Abada-Escay, the government’s latest resettlement project in Vista Alegre. Over there, you dig your own drainage, you find your own water, and dinner is always by candlelight because there is no electricity. Back in Banago, the GK is building 25 duplexes for 50 families. But with the floodway far from being finished, drainage is impossible. Awarding these homes will only condemn people into a life of misery and smell.

My pet peeve is garbage. Fellow writer Gigi Campos and I, together with other Baha members, sit in the solid waste management committee. Fundamental to our concern is this: RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (Art. 37, Sec. 1), the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. 9003 (Rule XIII, Sec. 1), and the National Solid Waste Management Commission (Resolution No.5), the country’s lead agency for SWM implementation created under R.A. 9003, all require that “open dumpsites” in the country must be converted to “controlled dumpsites” by Feb, 16, 2004. And that by Feb. 16, 2006, all controlled dumpsites must be closed. Henceforth, garbage will be collected in “sanitary landfills”. By providing a time line for the transformation of open dumpsites into eventual sanitary landfills, the national government gave all LGUs enough time to build the sanitary landfill. And yet, to this day, in Bacolod City, we are still using an open dumpsite. We never even complied with the controlled dumpsite deadline (2004), let alone the sanitary landfill deadline (2006).

Who’s responsible for implementing solid waste management? The city or the barangays? I shall tell all in my next column. Till then, hold your breath because there again, something smells.