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Guv urges mayor: Act now!
The Bohol Standard

BOHOL Gov. Erico Aumentado has urged Mayor Dan Lim to expedite the construction of the ultimate solution to the flooding, foul odor and environmental pollution problems in some areas in Tagbilaran City – a centralized wastewater treatment facility.

In a letter to Lim, Aumentado expressed his grave concern over media’s latest tag of Tagbilaran as a ‘stinking city’ from ‘crime city’ of the recent past.

“Obviously, media refers to the foul odor in the drainage system along CPG Avenue in front of Rose Pharmacy and Mercury Drugstore up to the corner of Allied Bank despite the fact that the unauthorized connections were already cut off. Similar foul odor is also noted at the Central Market and ICM area in Dao District,” the governor observed.

The tag does not sit well for Tagbilaran City which has been lauded as one of the Eight Dream Cities in the country by the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA), cited as one of the most livable cities in terms of quality of life by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and the gateway to Bohol’s tourism havens. Thus, the first impression the city gives to tourists and guests is of utmost importance to the rest of the province, he wrote.

Aumentado added that his concern was “heightened more than ever” because of the forthcoming Sandugo Festival, Tigum Bol-anon Tibuok Kalibutan or TBTK (Global Conference of Boholanos) and the Bohol Day celebration where President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is invited to be the guest of honor on the historic day, July 22.

“On this score, I urge your good self to expedite the process for the construction of Tagbilaran’s waste water treatment facility which you promised to be in place by the time the drainage system and the San Jose Street asphalting shall be completed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH),” he reminded the mayor.

All your conditionalities have been met – including the concreting instead of the asphalt overlay of CPG Avenue as programmed originally, Aumentado said.

“It is your turn to honor your commitment done publicly and during the [Bohol Circumferential Road Improvement Project Phase 2] BCRIP 2 coordination meetings which I presided,” he added.

The governor also said that he learned from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) Central Office that the city government has filed a loan application for the establishment of a centralized waste water treatment facility in Taloto District.

However, It has not yet complied with DBP’s requirements to release the funds for the purpose until now, he observed.

“Thus it is time for the city government to focus on the requirements and implement with dispatch the waste water treatment facility to erase once and for all the ignominious sobriquet of “stinking city”,” he wrote.

Aumentado reminded Lim of the general welfare clause under Section 17 of the Local Government Code where it is the executive’s responsibility to abate public nuisance such as foul odor in the drainage system, prevent pollution and environmental disaster, among others.

“Just as you have risen to the occasion when Tagbilaran was branded as “crime city” before, I know that with the same fervor and able leadership, you will marshal the talents and resources of the city government to solve the problem head on. I know you can do it, but do it fast – and now,” he said.



   




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