SMOKEY MOUNTAIN, BACOLOD CITY 6100

SOMETHING SMELLS

Smokey Mountain, Bacolod City 6100

By Alan S. Gensoli

Last September 15th I promised that in my next column I will clarify who is primarily responsible for implementing Solid Waste Management (SWM), the city government or the barangay council. I am sorry that that will have to give way to a more timely and pressing issue: Brgy. Felisa, Bacolod’s very own Smokey Mountain.

On September 24, the barangay council of Felisa attended the city council’s meeting at city hall. The meeting was scheduled to take up the barangay council’s resolution asking the city government to submit within 15 days pertinent documents proving that the seven-hectare lot in Felisa recently bought by the government for P23.8 Million for its supposed sanitary landfill, was indeed properly sited by survey as suitable for a sanitary landfill facility. Prior to the meeting, Felisa Brgy. Capt. Peregrino Aspan and his kagawads sought an audience with the Baha.

At our meeting with them, we saw, heard, and felt the frustration of the barangay leaders over the city government’s apparent attempt to ignore the opinions and sentiments of the residents of Felisa as far as the sanitary landfill project is concerned. The seven-hectare property was bought by the city government without the consent of the barangay council. This consent is a prerequisite to acquiring an ECC for the construction of the sanitary landfill. No ECC, no sanitary landfill, and the city is left in the hole for P23.8 Million and tons of garbage that has nowhere to go but Felisa. I smell something bad, the city bullying Felisa.

The stalemate between the city government and the Felisa barangay council is borne out of distrust. We are told by the kagawads that in 2005, when the dumpsite in Mandalagan was being closed, the city government sought the help of Felisa by asking the barangay council to agree to put up a controlled dumpsite. Out of the exigency of the time (at that time the dumptrucks were packed to the rafters with nowhere to go because they could no longer dump at the Mandalagan site), and out of a concern to help the city government in dire need, the Felisa council agreed for the city to install a controlled dumpsite at a four-hectare property in their barangay. The agreement was for three years. The three years are now up. And worse, the city government reneged on their promise because the dumpsite has remained an open dumpsite, not a controlled dumpsite.

The Baha group, after meeting with the barangay council, drove to the dumpsite. I know a controlled dumpsite. That was not a controlled dumpsite. It is an open dumpsite—if it looks like an open dumpsite and smells like an open dumpsite, then it must be an open dumpsite.

Because of this, the barangay council of Felisa has lost confidence that the city government will in fact build a sanitary landfill in the new seven-hectare property. If the city government failed to build a controlled dumpsite before, and for three long years as promised, what reason has Felisa to believe now that the city government will build a far more expensive sanitary landfill? It would seem, the city government lied. Remember the boy who cried “Wolf!”?

Since the seven-hectare property was bought for P23.8 Million, I have never questioned the purchase, especially the matter about the price. By conscious decision, I limited my concern strictly on the construction of the sanitary landfill. However, now, after meeting with the Felisa council and seeing for myself the open dumpsite, a preponderance of corroborating evidence convinces me that this seven-hectare property was not properly sited, as required by law. Councilor Greg Gasataya himself shared with me that they do not have the written consent of the Felisa barangay council. Now the council itself has admitted that in fact they have not issued one. Why should they? They were not consulted. Worse, the seven-hectare property is even closer to the center of the barangay population than the existing open dumpsite.

Article 6, Section 40, of Republic Act 9003 lists the minimum criteria for the siting of a sanitary landfill. Two minimum criteria immediately call my attention: Letter (d) of the section states, “The site must be chosen with regard for the sensitivities of the community’s residents”. But the barangay council of Felisa is objecting.

Letter (e) follows, “The site must be located in an area where the landfill’s operation will not detrimentally affect environmentally sensitive resources such as aquifer, groundwater reservoir or watershed area”. There are five Baciwa wells in the area and a river flows adjacent to it. The kagawads testified, fish have died, the bamboos along the bank have withered, and the carabaos of the local residents have nowhere to drink.

Much as I would like the sanitary landfill constructed posthaste, I now must join the barangay council of Felisa object to its building in this seven-hectare property. And because of this, I now join the many others who object to the purchase of this property because it was not properly sited, as required by law.

Meanwhile, the open dumpsite is overflowing. I saw it. I smelled it. And I am saddened by it.

I'D RATHER BE GREEN

SOMETHING SMELLS! 

_________________________________________________________

By Tina M. Monfort

  It does not take a personal flood-experience to get involved.  I, for one, have not experienced my house go under water, having to reupholster practically the entire place and no experience whatsoever getting stranded somewhere.  In fact, I cannot even recall where I was last December 2006, the night Bacolod City went under water. 

Listening to the horrible stories of how Tita Gigi lost most of her family pictures or how Tita Marilyn had to use a dinghy just so they don’t drown when the water rose to 7 feet high was like recalling scenes from Reality T.V.    I CAN ONLY IMAGINE...

Two weeks ago, during our BAHA meeting, Alan G., who heads the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Division, asked for volunteers to write in this column.  With zero experience in writing, I volunteered just the same.  I thought, this was the least I can do to bring about awareness about the rising flood and trash problems of the City.

So, how does one really encourage consciousness to every moment and action when it comes to caring for our environment, which is in a very crucial stage right now? 

Climate change is real but we can still slow it down.  Only if we make our own personal commitment. We should not be overwhelmed with the immensity of the problem and let us not be discouraged either, by how little our contributions may seem like.  For after all, don’t all big things start from something little?     

I started an anti-plastic campaign for BAHA last May, making it possible for us to sell our re-usable grocery and shopping bags at cost.  Thanks to Ichay Bulaong of Luntian Bags for giving us a really good deal (http://luntianbags.wordpress.com).

Plastics, as we all know, don’t biodegrade, they photo degrade - breaking down into smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest them.   They wrap around living corals, quickly "suffocating" and killing these.  Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken as food. 

Since water keeps the plastic cool and algae blocks ultraviolet rays, every little piece of plastic manufactured in the past 50 years that made it into the ocean is still there, somewhere.   

You can make a difference by BYOB (Bring-ing Your Own Bag) to your next shopping or grocery trip. We can make this happen and we will!  But we need your help in making this change and your personal commitment never to use plastic again.  It is high time that we get ahead of ourselves – break our own records and stand for what is right!  Get involved!  SAY NO TO PLASTICS NOW!

Hope shines!

BAHA Re-usable Luntian Bags are available at: Bob's Café - 7091091; Bob’s Big Boy - 4342409 and 4330448; Bank of Commerce - 4334238; For Kids Only - 4352632; Pendy’s - 4340269 / Envirosax is available at Learning Gallery - 4322699; Pink Elephant Robinson’s Place -   4410599 and at Pink Elephant East - 4339280 /   Save a Bag. Save the World (green bags) available at SM Supermarket - BYOB!!!

THAT UBIQUITUOUS, FATAL PLASTIC BAG

SOMETHING SMELLS

By: Lourdes Ledesma 

It is such an innocuous thing, the plastic bag.. one hardly notices it. Used in supermarkets to bring home groceries; in the wet markets, to contain fish, meat, vegetables, rice, and fruit; in department stores, to wrap purchases, from threads to shoes, to carpets; in laundry stores, to encase gowns and anything dry-cleaned. The plastic bag in various forms and sizes, is so much a part of our lives, it seems we cannot do without it. It is ubiquitous…everywhere.. a part of our environment …we do not notice it. We even throw it after it has fulfilled its function of carrying our home our purchases…and promptly forget it. Unfortunately, it is not forgettable as part of our garbage. Thought the sanitary engineers collect it along with other refuse, it does not melt away or rot. It has life of its own. It reappears as an unending vista of many colors in our garbage dump.. it litters and clogs our drains, canals and waterways, to our endless frustration when the rains come and the waters rise to our doorstep and even in our living rooms. It appears as a forgettable seascape on our beaches and riverbanks, carrying out malodorous things. It is the main culprit blocking floodwaters from draining to the sea.

 

As much a product of our times and technology, it is a polymer, petroleum-based and rendered in wondrous forms for various needs… tough, transparent, colored, printed, opaque, from filmy to thick, and next to nothing in weight, replacing traditional materials such as wood, metal, and glass. It is photodegradable, but its lifespan is years. And yet, the downsize is, there is just too much of it, to the point that it is threatening to suffocate our lives and our health. If we consider that millions of plastic bags do not rot or go back to Mother Earth, where do they go?

 

It is known, though not visible fact, that ocean-going vessels dump their garbage on the high seas. Before reaching national waters, international ships usually dump perishables into the sea, and part of the garbage are plastic bags. Inter-island ferries likewise throw their garbage into the ocean, despite environmental laws that prohibit such practices. It is lamentable that plastic bags are washed ashore our beaches and litter them. Our oceans are now garbage dumps! It is not unusual to see many plastics bags coming in with the tide, along with bamboo twigs, coconut fronds and other flotsam. It is terrible that many sea creatures actually ingest these, mistaking them as food. As indigestible as far as plastic bags are as food, these actually cause the death of these animals, e.g. turtles, dolphins, sea birds. And if these plastic bags actually biodegrade over time and form part of the food chain, may not humans also be at risk, in the food that we harvest from the sea?

 

What is being done now to reverse this situation, one may ask? Regarding dumping in our seas, NOTHING! Who will police the oceans? At his moment, less than five percent of the world’s escalating population are aware of this growing danger, nor are concerned. Government leaders, especially in Third World countries where the danger is greatest, are too busy with politics. It is environmental groups who are raising public consciousness and concern. Government legislation and enforcement are slow to follow and address the problem. Environmental laws decree the proper disposal of garbage, including plastics and non-biodegradable materials. Yet the cure is too slow to curb the rising mountains of plastic bags anywhere. Prevention? Replacement of plastic bags with bio-degradable materials such as cloth or bamboo baskets, cartons, etc. reduction of usage this means market vendors do not voluntarily use plastic bags to put the purchases of their customers in. It follows that people bring their own containers, preferably, non-plastic, to market. It also means melting them down to make stepping stones, bricks, flowerpots, etc. All these practices are actually being done in some communities and towns in the Philippines, as in Kabankalan in Negros Occ. and in the Municipality of Sta. Barbara, in Iloilo, which has become a model community and a learning center for other communities who aim for the goal of zero waste.

 

Yet, this trend is too slow and not enough to correct the situation. Other countries have actually banned the manufacture and use of plastic bags. China, which has a population of over a billion…translate that into plastic bags…has banned free plastic bags! Because its manufacture is oil-based, China has reduced its national consumption of petroleum. Legislation? Why not? It is a drastic step fro a drastic problem. Ireland has taxed the manufacture and use of plastic bags in 2002, and has definitely reduced its consumption considerably. Canada, Israel, Kenya, Singapore, to name a few, have banned the use of plastic bags. The city of San Francisco, is the first U.S. city to ban it in 2007. Other cities are considering following its example.

 

In a democracy, where the market is free and what dictates of its supply and demand, the manufacture and use of plastic bags hinges on demand. If there was no longer any demand, by a consuming society, there would no longer be any need to manufacture it.

 

So, when all is said and done, the ultimate decision lies with us…will we decide today to save ourselves and our environment? Will we choose to leave our children a better future…a clean and safe environment? Like Hamlet faced with the decision…so are we: to use or not to use—that plastic bag!

300,000 SQUATTERS!

SOMETHING SMELLS

By:   Agnes T. Jalandoni

One warm morning, my friend Nena and I were passing Mandalagan bridge on the way home. From a distance I spotted 3 children running across the road. Suddenly, a speeding truck appeared, missing the three boys ages 6, 4, and 2 by a hairline.  We pulled over to the curb and looked back at them.   The older one grabbed the toddler on to the curb, and then slapped the 4 year old.  I got off and walked toward them thinking, “Go back, go back.  It’s none of your business.”  As the older boy spotted me he looked alarmed, probably noting how I had seen him slap the younger boy.  Filthy, barely clothed and scared the three brothers looked like they hadn’t eaten for days.   I asked them what they were doing running across the bridge like that.  The older one said that he had run after the second brother who decided to look for their mother.  She left early to look for their father. Three days had passed since he too, left to find work.  The youngest just followed the two. Their last meal -  lunch - yesterday! Their home? A shack under the bridge. 

As we drove away we were quiet. How many times had we crossed Mandalagan bridge and not see the hut teetering on the river bank?  How many live in similar, if not worse conditions in our city of smiles?  Who are these people?  What is a squatter?     

Since we started our involvement in BAHA ( the Bacolod Anti – Baha Alliance)   we have walked through many of the squatter areas here in our city.  Starting with one of the bigger areas in Bata and Banago we have seen appalling conditions for the poor in our city. We drive past them daily and somehow, not bother to look and see. We began to realize that these shacks built on the waterways actually cause the flooding. We discovered that all these structures which include pig pens, toilets, basketball courts etc… are illegal. They block the natural flow of water in the creeks and rivers.  Why do many of our settlers continue to build at risk of their safety, and for some, their lives? When the floods hit they make do with temporary relocation sites, receive a bag of rice, noodles and canned sardines from the government, then go back. We have seen toilets split open, human excrement mixing with pig’s dung from the pig pens and worse, children playing a few feet away. This is a real threat to the health of thousands living under these conditions.  The potential for an epidemic to strike or deaths resulting from flooding are all too real to evade.  When this happens, no one will be spared.

2007 NSO statistics report that our population in Bacolod has reached 499,497. In recent interviews BHA Head Josephine Segundino, cited that the current number of informal dwellers or squatters in the city may have already reached 60 to 65 per cent of the city’s population.  300, 000 people in our city do not own homes and are occupying relatively unstable dwelling places. 200,000 squatters!  One out of two people do not own a home!   These are alarming numbers. 

Ms. Segundino has recommended several proposals to meet the staggering demand for housing. The Mayor plans to purchase 30 to 60 hectares for additional relocation sites to provide housing for 1000 households pending ejection. This is roughly enough for 5000 people-  5000 out of the 300,000? If we are growing each year by 1.38 per cent and both the relocation sites in Barangay Handumanan and Vista Alegre are almost filled, Bacolod will soon become the city of the homeless.  Ms. Segundino emphasized further that the purchase of land to accommodate the growing number of people in the city has to be sustained for the next ten years.   

How do we move so many people to the relocation sites?  What livelihood programs will be made available for them to make the transfer attractive? What does the law provide?  Does our city allocate sufficient funds for landbanking?  That is, enough to sustain the recommended plan by the BHA to address the growing population in the city?  Is there a comprehensive city development plan that covers all the critical areas required to allow our city to grow and provide the basic services for all of us? 

RA 7279 is the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992.   I Googled this and began to read.  The Act was finally passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on Feb. 3, 1992.  16 years later, Bacolod City has 300,000 squatters and growing! This is simply just not right. I will explain this in my next column.

TRASH AND HOGWASH!

SOMETHING SMELLS

By Gigi M. Campos

 

The time bomb ticks away…  in less than a month the existing  open dump site at Felisa currently being used by the city government will be full. This shocking revelation came from Councilor Greg Gasataya, Chairperson of the Bacolod City Clean and Green Coordinating Action Team during one of the meetings of the Flood Mitigation Committee.  Ten BAHA representatives  sit in this  Committee in the teams of Flood Control, Housing and Legal and Solid Waste Management.

The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, or R.A. 9003 mandates  the  closure of all open dumps by February 16, 2006.  The deadline was two (2) years ago!  Unfortunately our City government did nothing towards complying with the provisions RA 9003 since the deadline. Straight from the horse’s mouth came the excuse that like other local governments officials who have not complied, our city mayor was hoping the law would still be changed.   Last July with undue haste and under threat our city  officials hurriedly purchased seven hectares from the Lopez family also at Barangay Felisa for a sanitary landfill under questionable circumstances. Now that the purchase is a done deal, the questions remain – Was it overpriced? Were the barangay residents properly consulted? When will the new property at Felisa be ready as a landfill? In the meantime, where will the garbage be dumped since the open dumpsite is now full?

The problem is serious. It is time for everyone to make necessary though inconvenient decisions --  for this is a matter of survival.   Let’s look at the facts.  We may not realize it, but each of us throws away more than 360 kilos of trash per year.  Studies show that every year, a typical household  of five throws out 1,120  kilos of paper,  240 kilos of metal,  220 kilos of glass and 220 kilos of food scraps, not counting all plastic products. Experts estimate that 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed and discarded annually worldwide—more than a million per minute. Yes, a MILLION A MINUTE!

About 80 percent of all our garbage ends up in landfills—open dumps, as they are more commonly known.  (Of the remaining 20 percent, about half is recycled and half is incinerated.)  One big problem is that we are running out of landfill space—in less than a month the existing open dumpsite in Felisa will be full.  Where will we put all our garbage when that happens?

 

But trash presents more than a space problem.  Between 5 and 15 percent of what we throw away contains hazardous substances--substances that can seep into the ground and contaminate air, water, and soil, eventually injuring people and other living things.  Batteries, plastics, inks used on packages, and disposable diapers are just some of the things we throw away that contain hazardous substances that can cause serious problems. 
 

 

One of the things we throw away most often is packaging.  Think about the products you and your family buy.  From detergent powder to shampoo sachets, from snack foods to compact discs, -- many products contain a great deal of packaging.  Some have four or five layers, including several layers of plastic, far more than may be necessary.  If your household is typical, about one-third of the packaging you buy will be thrown away immediately upon opening a package.

Excessive packaging also adds to the cost of a product, so you pay extra for products that have a lot of wrapping.  We also pay for garbage in other ways--through higher taxes needed to create new landfills, for example, and through higher medical bills and health insurance costs required to cure the illnesses caused by pollution. 
 

The real tragedy behind the mountains of trash we produce is that a lot of what we throw away can actually be reused or recycled.  Not everything is recyclable, and some materials are more easily recycled than others.  But recycling makes perfect sense in any case.  After all, why throw away what we can reuse?

Burning trash without making energy is the last thing we want to do with our trash. Burning trash at home and in open spaces harms human health and the environment and is now illegal under RA 9003. No single step can solve our waste disposal problems. Each option has side effects that must be considered when we're selecting the best solution to each solid waste problem.

      We used to think that after we discarded something into a landfill that it would eventually biodegrade--that is, it would rot and disappear completely.  But we have come to learn that this doesn't really happen.

When things are buried in a landfill, where there is little if any air or sunlight, things do not break down.  In fact, burying things in a landfill tends to preserve trash rather than dispose of it! 
 

You probably already know about the "three R’s"--reading, 'riting, and 'rithmatic.  But there are three more R’s we should know to help us Green our environment. 
 

Refuse to buy things that are excessively packaged, that are made of plastics or other materials that are not fully recyclable, that are wasteful in other ways, or that you don't really need.

Reuse whatever you can.  And buy products made of or packaged in reused (recycled) material.

    Recycle as much as you can.  This allows us to get the most use of out of our precious resources.

Being involved in this advocacy has been an insightful though at times jolting learning experience for me . One revelation is how much money there is in trash, but I will tell you more about  this in the next column. For now, as residents of this city, let us be aware of the issues. And let us dismiss all these lame excuses for not implementing laws that affect our well-being and health as hogwash. It’s time for us to get involved.  More and more I have realized that if we are not part of the solution then we are part of the problem.   Whether,  as a private citizen or as someone in government, I truly believe it is never too late to make a difference.

 

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.