MikeLigalig.com

By Bohol Chronicle

The Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (BCCI) expressed alarm on the worsening garbage problem in the city while it fears of a possible pandemonium during the Christmas holidays as garbage is expected to escalate with more goods to be purchased by every consumer.

The businessman's group convened a special meeting last Thursday to assess the present worsening garbage collection problem after the closure of the open dump site in barangay Dampas, this city.

Operators of malls and major establishments, including resorts in Panglao and hotels, restaurants in the city are having the garbage disposal on top of their daily concerns.

Reports reaching the Chronicle bared that starting last week private clinics were already asked to dispose their own garbage in order for the hospital management to lighten up their daily load on garbage disposal.

Invited by by the businessmen to the special meeting were PENRO Nestor Canda of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Engr. Edmund Jimenez, chief of the city solid waste management office to shed light on what could be the nearer solution to the problem on garbage disposal.¬¬¬¬

Also in attendance during the businessmen's' meeting were City Kagawad Faro Cabalit and Sonieta Labasan of the office of Vice Mayor Nuevas Montes.

The DENR executive admitted the seriousness of the problem considering that the unattended open dump site of Tagbilaran has been the only area that used to accommodate the garbage in the entire city as well as from the neighboring towns, including the resort town of Panglao.

He said that the proposed sanitary landfill in Albur if completed could be a solution even as he stressed that the area would not be sufficient if the mandated segregation of garbage will not be implemented in the homes and business firms disposing of their daily garbage.

The garbage problem even worsened when only five, out of the 13 garbage trucks in the city were functioning since the last couple of months.

Engr. Jimenez, however, in his update issued during the meeting said there are now seven trucks operating even as he bared that the city government is earmarking a budget to purchase new garbage compactors to beef up the garbage collection capacity in the city.

During the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod last Friday, the lawmakers approved the supplemental budget of P18 million, the P8 million of which was budgeted for the purchase of a garbage compactor while the balance of P10 million was earmarked for the concreting of a road section in barangay Taloto, this city.

Jimenez blamed the failure of the residents to adopt the segregation of garbage in their respective homes as this could have resulted to a huge reduction in the volume of garbage brought to the Dampas open dumpsite.

SANITARY LANDFILL

ASSURED OF P140M

The delayed sanitary landfill in Albur town is expecting the resumption of its work after the Aquino administration earmarked P140 million which is up for bidding during the first quarter of next year,

The landfill project sprawling at a six-hectare property in barangay Dangay in the silica-rich town of Albur completed Phase I last year which included the 20 to 30 meter excavated portion where compacting with clay was completed. The site also has perforated pipeline as well as the benching and the needed access road from the highway to the site. A four-room administrative building which will house the future laboratories of the landfill was also competed. The funding of P93 million was released through the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) with Servantes Construction starting the project in 2007.

Chief Loloy Lafuente of the Bohol Environment and Management Office (BEMO) confirmed to the Chronicle last night the P140 million budget for Phase II of the project which will include the enhancement program of the site, four monitoring wells, the leachate chamber estimated at 200 sq. meter. The budget will likewise include the continuation of the access road as well as the purchase of dump trucks and a road roller.

The proposed landfill is getting the support of 13 towns namely, Baclayon, Albur, Loay, Loboc, Corella, Sikatuna, Balilihan, Maribojoc, Antequera, Cortes, Dauis, Panglao and Lila which will eventually utilize the site for their garbage site.

The town mayors of these municipalities were in unison endorsing the realization of the sanitary landfill. Surprisingly, Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Lim did not support the move of establishing a sanitary land fill when in fact the city has the biggest garbage load estimated at 98 tons daily.

Experts on landfill who visited the area said the Albur landfill is "over-designed" considering the rich clay/silica at the site was still bolstered with gravel in order to ensure the stability of the site as dumping area notwithstanding the government's commitment that it will be pass international environmental standard.

Lafuente said the completed Phase I of the project was already ready for the second phase to follow which will include the rip rapping and landscaping of the earlier excavated area as grasses grew covering the portion where the work was done some two years ago.

If Phase II can commence by the second quarter of next year, work could be completed within a year, Lafuente concluded.

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