Capitol earmarks P40 million for solid waste management
A P40 million proposed budget to aid solid waste management in the province was included in the proposed 2018 Annual Investment Plan (AIP) of the Cebu Provincial Government.
The funding for this will be drawn from the Internal Revenue Allotment(IRA) share of Cebu Province from the national government, according to the Budget Message of Governor Hilario Davide III to the Provincial Board(PB).
The bulk of the budget is generally intended to support environmental management projects, but is anchored on solid waste management.
The towns and cities under Cebu Province are set to benefit from it.
The effective utilization of this amount will be dependent on the implementation of the 10year waste management plans presented by the local government units (LGUs) to the National Solid Waste Management Commission(NSWMC) earlier this month.
At present, only 14 of the 51 local government units finished presenting their plans but not all included putting up their own sanitary landfills since the cost of one is prohibitive for a town.
The first set of LGUs to present their plans were Alegria, Boljoon, Carmen, Consolacion, Cordova, Ginatilan, Madridejos, Pinamungajan, Ronda, San Remigio, Sogod, Tabuelan, Tudela, and San Francisco, Camotes.
The other towns are set to do their presentations on a later schedule.
To best utilize the funds, the plans were critiqued by present NSWMC members and other panelists which came from agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The Cebu Provincial Government is taking this step to help its member towns and cities comply with Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
According to Engr. Eligio Ildefonso, executive director of NSWMC, there are LGUs in Cebu which failed to comply with the provisions of the said law, but asked not to name them.
“I am not here to file complaint at the Ombudsman on more than 20 Cebu LGUs who are not managing their waste properly, but I am here to help you,” he said.
As mandated by the law, Ildefonso said that the mayors of the said towns are liable should they fail to comply with RA 9003.
Meanwhile, Ildefonso recommended for the LGUs to try geographical clustering in planning for a sanitary landfill, given that establishing and maintaining one is costly.
“District Representative can help and members of the district may contribute to the funding,” he said, explaining that sanitary landfills accommodate only residual waste, which is only 25 percent of total waste generated.
He shared that around 50 percent of waste generated is biodegradable and can be used as fertilizer, while the other 25 percent can be reused or recycled.
He added that temporary containment areas for residual waste are allowed by the law until a permanent sanitary landfill is established.
Waste-to-energy system for waste disposal is another option, Ildefonso said. It is a process wherein the a volume of waste is converted into energy and no sanitary landfill is needed.
The Provincial Budget Office already submitted the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Plan last week with this project among the ones given emphasis to be implemented next year.