New Year's Garbage

The New Year brought with it a whole lot of garbage. In Cagayan de Oro there were piles of uncollected garbage left at the public markets. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1240854

Waste management in this city is the top priority after the New Year celebration, following reports of piles of uncollected trash in public markets.

In a radio interview on Wednesday, Allan Villalba, chief of the City Public Service Office, said the local government's third-party contractor for garbage collection has deployed workers in major public markets and streets to immediately collect the piles of garbage on the first morning of 2025.

"There's more garbage this year because more vendors were selling in the sidewalks than before," he said.

Villalba said two city government departments are already working to speed up garbage collection and street cleaning.

In major public markets, garbage has started accumulating on the sidewalks several hours before the New Year celebration.

Garbage collection in the city is observing a scheduled rotation of trucks by the third-party contractor under the management of Tencil company.

More sidewalk vendors means more people able to sell their products and make a living. It also means more garbage. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1240915

More than 75,000 kg. of waste were collected in this city a day after the New Year celebration.

In a radio interview on Thursday, Jermie Danuco, operations manager of Tencil, a third-party waste collector firm, said the estimated weight of collection came from five public markets in the city but the volume was lower this year than last year.

"Based on the previous action plan, the volume this year was lessened because as early as Dec. 24 (2024), we deployed trucks to collect the garbage in public markets," she said.

The city government awarded Tencil, a private company, to collect and manage waste disposals.

The City Economic Enterprises Department and the City Engineering Office have also been responding to keep the city streets free of garbage.

In another interview, Armen Cuenca, chief of the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office, suggested limiting the number of vendors selling on the sidewalks to reduce garbage piling during the holiday season.

He said the vendors had been reminded earlier about the importance of waste segregation and keeping it tidy and ready for collection. However, despite these warnings, some still chose not to follow the rules.

75,000 kg of trash were collected mostly from the city's five public markets. The amount of garbage appears to be due to the number of sidewalk vendors which is why chief of the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office has "suggested limiting the number of vendors selling on the sidewalks to reduce garbage piling during the holiday season." How did they not see this coming?

While the amount of garbage collected in CDO was lower than last year the amount of holiday waste in Iloilo City surged by 20%.

 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1240909

The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) reported a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in garbage volume during the holiday season, driven largely by unsold fruits and packaging materials.

CENRO head Neil Ravena said most of the waste were rotten or overripe fruits, particularly those used for the traditional New Year displays, such as the 13 round fruits.

“On the other hand, we collected lesser firecracker debris this year. Maybe it was due to the campaign of the Department of Health and the Philippine National Police against the use of firecrackers,” Ravena said in an interview Thursday.

During the peak holiday period from Dec. 24 to Jan. 1, waste collection reached 480 tons daily, up from the usual 400 tons.

About 60 percent of the waste comprised biodegradables, 20 percent were packaging materials such as cartons and styrofoam, and 10 percent were firecracker remnants.

To manage the increase, the city deployed three additional garbage trucks alongside those of a private contractor, focusing on high-traffic areas, such as the terminal market, JM Basa, Iznart, and Delgado streets. By the morning of Jan. 1, major thoroughfares were clean.

Ravena urged residents to dispose of garbage responsibly at designated points and reduce reliance on plastic trays and styrofoam to minimize landfill waste.

The 13 round fruits made up the bulk of the trash. What are the 13 round fruits? 

Eating round fruits on New Year’s Eve is a beloved tradition in many cultures, believed to bring good fortune and prosperity in the coming year. The round shape of these fruits symbolizes unity, completeness, and the cyclical nature of time. In many Spanish-speaking countries, it’s customary to eat 12 round fruits at midnight, one for each stroke of the clock as it strikes midnight. This practice is thought to bring good luck and prosperity in the new year.

In the Philippines, the tradition of eating 12 round fruits is a cherished family custom passed down through generations. The fruits typically include apples, grapes, oranges, watermelon, pomelo, pineapple, pears, golden melon, guava, kiwi, rambutan, chico, and lemons. The round shape of these fruits is believed to symbolize unity and completeness, and eating them is thought to bring good fortune and blessings to the family.

The sweetness of the fruits is also believed to attract positive energy and remove negative energy from the previous year. In some cultures, it’s customary to eat sweet fruits like grapes and pineapple to invite good luck. This tradition is often combined with other auspicious foods to create a bountiful and prosperous New Year’s celebration.

https://blog.atlastravelweb.com/special-interests/festivals-2/lucky-fruits-for-new-years/

Is it 12 or 13? Doesn't matter. Eating these fruits are supposed to be for good luck. Yet the bulk of the garbage was rotten lucky fruit. Go figure. 

In Manila the holiday trash piled up real quick because the contracted garbage collector decided to stop collecting garbage. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1241044

The city government of Manila vowed on Saturday to hold its former garbage collector accountable for failing to perform its duties during the holiday season.

Mayor Honey Lacuna, in a statement, slammed Leonel Waste Management Corporation for abandoning garbage collection responsibilities amidst a 400-percent surge in waste volume during Christmas and New Year celebrations.

“Rest assured, I will not let this sabotage pass and those responsible will be held accountable,” Lacuna said.

She said two firms, MetroWaste and PhilEco Systems Corporation, are currently trying to clear Manila’s streets of garbage 24/7.

The mayor assured residents that those responsible for the lapse would face accountability.

"We will address the negligence of the previous garbage collector. Now, we have two contractors, MetroWaste and PhilEco, ensuring that the city is cleaned efficiently," she added.

Lacuna also encouraged residents to report uncollected garbage to the city’s Department of Public Services and Task Force Against Road Obstruction.

Lacuna said PhilEco Systems Corporation and MetroWaste have expedited the collection of garbage that piled up after the revelries as she assured the city government’s continued commitment to ensuring efficient garbage collection across all districts.

Leonel Waste Management Corporation says they did not abandon their duties. Rather, they claim the City of Manila owes them 561,440,000 pesos and they gave a notice in September 2024 they would not be doing trash duty after December 31st

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2021925/manila-ex-waste-contractor-denies-abandoning-duty-cites-payment-issues

The previous waste management contractor in the City of Manila has disputed allegations that it abandoned its duty to collect trash, maintaining that it informed the local government that it would no longer serve the city once the contract ended on December 31.

In a statement on Monday, Leonel Waste Management Corporation (Leonel) clarified that they met with Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna in September 2024 to tell her that they will not participate in the new contract bidding for the city’s trash collector, as the local government has failed to pay them for months.

“We are deeply concerned that news is circulating that we abandoned our duty with the City of Manila before our contract ended on December 31, 2024. We strongly refute this accusation, which grossly undermines the hard work and efforts of all our garbage collectors, who we thank deeply for their outstanding service,” Leonel said.

“Last September 2024, we met with Mayor Lacuna informing her that we will not participate in the 2025 bidding because of the City’s mounting unpaid obligations to Leonel, in order to give the City enough time to prepare and ensure a smooth transition to the new service provider,” it added.

According to the company, it instructed employees to continue working during the holiday season until the end of the contract period on December 31, even though Manila’s unpaid obligations had risen to P561.4 million.

“In fact, last December 23, 2024, when we announced to our employees that our contract of service is ending on December 31, 2024, we mandated them to continue doing our usual services until the end of our contract, especially in anticipation of the usual surge of garbage brought about by the holiday season,” Leonel said.

“Our company, Leonel, has always put our clients first and has never, nor will ever, abandon our duty of garbage collection. We have faithfully served our contract until December 31, 2024, despite the City of Manila’s total debt to our company amounting to PhP561,440,000,” it added.

Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna denies such a massive debt is owed. Either way these are just a highlights of the Holiday Waste problem which troubles the Philippines every year. 

Mandaue City Garbage Crisis: A Study in Incompetence

Recently Mandaue City recalled two garbage trucks from Barangay Guizo because the barangay failed to collect garbage in a timely manner and dispose of it properly. 

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/mandaue-city-to-recall-2-garbage-trucks-from-guizo

FOR allegedly failing to properly manage waste within its jurisdiction, Barangay Guizo will lose its two garbage trucks owned by the Mandaue City Government. 

This was confirmed by Guizo Barangay Captain Jesus Neri Sr. in an interview with SunStar Cebu on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. 

Barangay Guizo reportedly violated the city ordinance on proper waste management as it continue to dispose of mixed waste in unauthorized areas. 

The City Government ordered the recall of the garbage on Thursday, Sept. 5, heeding the recommendations from the Mandaue Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro). 

Neri, however, requested the City to recall the garbage trucks on Tuesday, Sept. 10. 

The City, he said, will assume the garbage collection in Guizo as the barangay-owned truck is not functional. 

Multiple citations have been issued to Barangay Guizo. The most recent violation, recorded on April 3, 2024, showed the barangay’s failure to comply with the city ordinance that mandates that waste be disposed of only in designated facilities.

Despite a P5,000 fine being imposed, the penalty remains unsettled, prompting City officials to issue a first and final notice demanding immediate payment.

According to Cenro, Barangay Guizo has been subjected to multiple citations since March 21, 2019, for its repeated waste management violations. 

Cease and desist orders were issued on Jan. 12, 2024, and Jan. 4, 2024, directing the barangay to halt improper waste disposal methods.

The village chief said that waste management is a challenge in Guizo, as they are using only one garbage truck because the other truck is under repair. 

Two important things here need to be noted. The first is that the Barangay Captain, Jesus Neri Sr., requested that the city recall the trucks. Despite his admission that this happened at his request he is calling this act "political harassment" on the part of Mandaue City. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/11/village-officials-in-mandaue-city-cry-foul-over-recall-of-garbage-trucks-collectors

Officials of a barangay in Mandaue City, Cebu have cried foul over the recall of city-owned motor vehicles and city-paid job order employees for garbage disposal services.

Barangay Guizo Captain Jesus Neri Jr. said the move of the city government, through city administrator James Calipayan, recalling the barangay’s two drivers and one garbage collector has severely affected its garbage collection.

“We only have one garbage truck and it cannot be avoided that there are times that it breaks down, that's why garbage is not collected timely,” Neri told reporters on Wednesday, September 11.

The vehicles and the workers were recalled by the city government on September 3.

With a population of more than 10,000 people with three major hospitals, hospitals, and a mall, Guizo needs to have adequate personnel and a working garbage truck to prevent uncollected garbage from piling up.

“Before Guizo had only 44.3 hectares but it has expanded to more than 80 hectares now,” said Neri.

Neri added that their workers tasked to collect garbage have complained of delayed salaries.

During the press briefing, Neri showed uncollected garbage that had piled up beside the barangay hall.

“We have a weekly clean up drive, we tried to ask assistance from the city but we were just told their garbage trucks are defective. So what can we do?” said Neri.

Neri described  the recent move by the city government as political harassment.

“It is clear that what they did was political harassment,” said Neri, an ally of Mandaue Rep. Emmarie “Lollipop” Ouano.

Ouano is rumored to be running against Mandaue Mayor Jonas Cortes, who is currently serving a one-year suspension.

Neri said he has been bashed on social media for the uncollected garbage in the barangay.

“I have been repeatedly ridiculed on social media. I was accused of being remiss in my job. It was in 1997 when I first became a barangay captain here. I wouldn’t last this long if I was not doing my job well. It is not easy to manage a barangay,” said Neri.

Neri appealed to the city government, now headed by acting Mayor Glen Bercede, to reinstate the recalled job-order employees.

He also asked the city to fulfill its promise of helping the barangay in its garbage collection.

If Neri requested the trucks be recalled how is this an act of political harassment? Neri also claims he asked the city to assist with garbage collection but he was told their garbage trucks are defective meaning they cannot offer any help. That is in contradiction to his previous statement Mandaue City will assume garbage collection. How will they do that if their trucks are defective? These statements are contradictory.

The second important thing to note is Barangay Guizo has two garbage trucks but only one is in operation. But who owns these trucks? The Barangay or the City? It would seem the City since they recalled the trucks. Why not simply repair the trucks if that is the problem?

Another issue affecting this situation and indicating the City owns the trucks is job order employees claiming their pay has been withheld for several months. 

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/594924/mandaue-some-guizo-job-order-workers-say-their-salaries-delayed

Some city paid job order employees in Barangay Guizo have complained about the delay of their salaries.

Antonio Abellanosa, a garbage truck driver and Arjay Serafin, a garbage collector said that usually they could not receive their P4,000 monthly honorarium on time.

(There are days that these will be delayed, there are times two months. Those two months it will not be given in full [they will give that] in two months, they will skip a month and so.]

(It will reach 2 months, it could have been better if the salary is given in full, only one month’s worth of salary will be given. The second pay will be given every two months. And it will be again delayed.)

Abellanosa and Serafin were appointed by the city as job order employees and paid on honorarium basis at P435 daily under the Tourism Department and Promotion Program of the Barangay pursuant to Sangguniang Panlungsod Ordinance no. 16-2023-1837. 

Guizo Barangay Captain Neri said that since February 2023, Lawyer Jamaal James Calipayan designated the first first barangay councilor as the signatory of the Daily Time Record of the city government paid Job Order and Clean and Green Personnel assigned in the barangay instead of him.

Calipayan said that they authorized Arnulfo Capacite because the city trusted him but the supervision and control would still be in the Barangay Captain. 

Capacite is an ally of suspended Mayor Jonas Cortes while Neri is an ally of Congresswoman Emmarie “Lolypop” Ouano-Dizon.

For his part, Capacite denied the two months delay of the honorarium. 

If there would be a delay, the longest time would be two weeks, he said.

He said that he would immediately sign after they would fill up their DTR. 

Calipayan also denied the allegation of Neri that politics was behind the recall of the truck.

Calipayan said that Neri was given enough time to improve their garbage collection system. 

He added that the environmental citation was issued to the barangay since 2018 from a previous administration.

Neri said that they had been trying their best to collect garbage in the barangay. 

He planned to ask for a garbage truck to Mandaue Rep. Ouano-Dizon.

And here is where the alleged political harassment comes in.  Mandaue City Administrator Jamaal James Calipayan does not trust Barangay Captain Neri and they are allied with differing politicians. It is, allegedly, a case of partisan politics. That is, of course, if one ignores the fact Barangay Guizo has been cited for faulty garbage collection since 2018 and Neri has been given plenty of time to improve garbage collection. 

Neri says he has been Barangay Captain since 1997 which is 27 years. That is quite a long time for any one man to hold onto power. He says he would not last so long if he had not been doing his job. However, the garbage woes of Barangay Guizo date back at least 10 years if not more. In 2014 it was reported trash was piling up in Barangay Guizo.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/46181/garbage-left-piling-up-near-guizo-barangay-hall

More than 50 sacks of uncollected garbage awaits motorists and visitors passing through A.S. Fortuna Extension in barangay Guizo, Mandaue City.

The bulk of the garbage, mostly plastic items, are found within walking distance from the Guizo barangay hall.

Guizo barangay chairman Jesus Neri Jr. said they don’t have garbage trucks to collect the trash from these areas.

To reduce the smell, residents covered the garbage with a tarpaulin.

“We’ve called Mandaue City to also collect our garbage but sometimes no one arrives,” Neri said.

“There were times that we told the residents to bring out their garbage, but when no one comes we have no choice but to leave that there,” he said.

Engr. Ricardo Mendoza, chief of Mandaue City Hall’s Solid Waste Management Board, said the garbage trucks run on fixed schedules to collect trash from the city’s 27 barangays.

He said it is each barangay’s responsibility to collect the garbage of their constituents.

In a meeting with some of the barangays, Mendoza said garbage trucks usually prioritize the collection of garbage from commercial firms.

“Instead of the households, they first collect garbage from the companies. Since they have recyclables, they’ll bring these to the junkshops and not to the landfill. It takes them so long to back for the household,” Mendoza said.

“We told the drivers to collect in the afternoon for companies and prioritize the households,” he said.

Mendoza said they tag every household who turn over their garbage to collectors in order to distinguish them from the residents who dump garbage anywhere.

Ten years ago Neri claimed the Barangay had no trucks to collect garbage. It's not certain if that means they had two trucks but both were in the shop for repairs. If the City owns the trucks and they are loaned to each barangay that would place the problem squarely in the lap of Mandaue City. 

Clearly there are a lot of issues going on in this situation. Garbage needs to be collected and it is the Barangay's duty to make sure that happens. Not only is Barangay Captain Neri doing a poor job at ensuring the garbage is collected but he is also divided from the City administration due to having different political allies. What's needed at the very least is better communication between the City and the Barangay. Yet Neri had ten years and more to fix the situation and it has only deteriorated. And who suffers? The people. 

Australian Shames Filipino Politicians By Cleaning Up Dirty Pateros River

It is a shame that the Philippines rivers are so full of garbage. There should be dedicated teams to collecting all the garbage. Instead the Philippines gets dedicated foreigners to clean up their mess. Recently Australian Mike Smith led a ten day clean up and collected 100,000 kilograms of trash.

https://pop.inquirer.net/359187/saving-ph-waters-aussie-citizen-attempts-to-revive-dying-pateros-river

Some of the world’s biggest problems, like trash-filled water bodies, have been a major problem faced by the Philippines. Among the 19 polluted rivers in the country is the infamous Pateros.

A recent viral post on Instagram captured many Filipinos’ attention as an Australian man led the Pateros River cleaning mission.

The cleaning project in the country started a few months back. Headed by Mike Smith, founder of ZeroCo—an Australian company that advocates and markets zero-waste cleaning and personal care products—along with ZeroCo Philippines’ cleanup crew, the initiative aims to save the Philippine rivers before the trash flows into the ocean, living up their mission to ‘untrash the ocean.’

The Pateros is not the only river they cleaned as they already visited several Philippine rivers like the Tanza Marine Tree Park.

Many were amazed and grateful for Smith and urged the Filipino community to support the latter’s content and account, while others expressed that it should be a shame for the locals as they were not able to do the same.

Smith’s company is on a mission to stop single-use plastic and sells zero-waste products. With over 24 million bottles collected in the waters to date, which they turn into refillable ‘forever bottles,’ every single penny they earn goes toward funding large-scale ocean cleanups worldwide.

This is certainly laudable and it is a shame that foreigners have to the jobs Filipinos should be doing. Maybe that is why the Mayor of Pateros, instead of praising Mike Smith and his team, called him irresponsible.

https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/29/pateros-mayor-says-dirtiest-river-cleaned-up-by-aussie-activist-located-in-taguig

Pateros Mayor Miguel Ponce III clarified that the “dirtiest river” cleaned up by an Australian environmental activist and entrepreneur is located in Taguig City and not in the municipality. 

Australian Mike Smith, founder of Zero Co., led the cleanup for 10 days of what he said was a river located in Pateros. 

“The Pateros in Manila (Philippines) is the dirtiest river I’ve ever seen. Over the last week together with @zeroco.com.au and @thehiddenseawine we removed every single piece of rubbish,” he said in a Facebook post. 

He said he and more than 240 Filipino volunteers removed more than 100,000 kilos of trash  from the river. 

Ponce said the river is located in Barangay Rizal, which is now under Taguig and formerly under the supervision of Makati. In a decision which became final last year, the Supreme Court transferred 10 barangays including Rizal from Makati to Taguig. 

“Actually there is nothing like that in Pateros,” Ponce told Manila Bulletin, adding that this is the reason why the Pateros municipal government posted a clarification on its official Facebook page. 

He added, “You will not see a river like that in Pateros. Now I’m wondering why this Australian Mike Smith said it was Pateros river. This is in the boundary.” 

"The truth is, what they cleaned up was an area in Barangay Rizal which was formerly part of Makati and now under Taguig,” Ponce clarified. 

The mayor said Smith was with Taguig volunteers for the cleanup and Pateros was never contacted about this even the barangay nearest to the river. 

Ponce said what was interviewed were residents of Barangay Rizal, Taguig. 

He said the river that Smith cleaned up was the “Taguig-Pateros river but never Pateros river.”

“I hope these irresponsible statements should be verified first. The problem is when territory is being discussed, takeover and income, it’s about Taguig or Makati. But when waste is being discussed, they throw it at Pateros. This is not right, isn’t it?,” said Ponce. 

Now, this is ridiculous, petty, and blatantly false. Mike Smith did not say he was in Pateros he said the Pateros River was the dirtiest he had ever seen. And there IS a Pateros River. It is not the same as the Taguig River.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_and_estuaries_in_Metro_Manila

While the Taguig River joins the Pateros River there is no Taguig-Pateros River. Even if the area he cleaned up was close to where the two rivers join this is just a ridiculous quibbling over words

And to make it even more shameful this Australian is hiring local Filipinos to clean up the rivers. 

https://www.instagram.com/mikesmithprojects/reel/C2ZbqptPxQh/

Over the past few months we’ve been quietly scaling our cleanup operation in The Philippines. We now employ 12 locals on the ground to do cleanups and we’re collecting over 4 MILLION water bottles worth of ocean and river waste every month. Our goal for 2024? 50 MILLION WATER BOTTLES OF OCEAN WATE COLLECTED

Why aren't LGUs doing this? Why aren't they doing more to clean up their own nation? Instead they would rather hoist large banners so no one can see the dirty water ways. It's more than just a shame. It is a dereliction of duty.

Backyard Garbage Burn Pile Becomes Backyard Funeral Pyre

I have documented on this blog how Filipinos love to burn garbage. They simply cannot be bothered to gather all the trash, put it in a bag, and wait for it to be collected. Most of the time the result is simply a disgusting gray miasma hanging in the air and creeping through your window. This time burning garbage resulted in a man's death. 

 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/2/14/octogenarian-dies-in-backyard-fire

An 85-year-old man was burned to death while cleaning his backyard in Barangay Taliba here on Tuesday afternoon, February 13.

Police identified the victim as Sofronio Atienza Marasigan.

Investigation said the octogenarian was burning garbage in his backyard when the fire reached the nearby bamboo trees.

Marasigan attempted to extinguish the flames but lost his balance and fell into the burning bamboo.

He failed to get up and was burned to death.

Firemen put out the fire and found the victim’s body.

This old man was burning his garbage, the fire spread, and when he attempted to put it out he was consumed in the flames. 

Now, of course this is not the normal run of things. This is not usually how sparking a pile of leaves and trash turns out but this time it did. It COULD happen. It's a wonder it does not happen more often. Especially the spreading of the fire. Every single time a trash pile is lit on fire the arsonist wanders away leaving the flames to their own devices. Tragedy is one gust of wind away. 

The lesson is clear. Don't burn your trash!

Picture of the Week: Don't Dump your Garbage here

"Don't Dump Your Garbage Here," reads the sign. How hard is it to not trash up someone else's property? For Filipinos it is incredibly hard. 

That is only one of the many garbage piles around town. 

No doubt everyone who dumped their garbage here looked at the sign and thought, "You can't tell me what to do."

I Stopped A Truck From Illegally Dumping Garbage

While out for a run one recent afternoon I saw a truck filled with garbage pull up next to a local illegal dumpsite. It was very obvious what was about to happen so I whipped out my camera and fired up the video. 

After some hesitation he drove off. 

About a mile up the street are two large trash bins which he must have known about since that is where the driver left his garbage. 

Why do people do this? The garbage truck comes around twice a week. They will even take leaves which deprives those who illegally burn their yard waste of no excuse. Certainly they would take those bags and styrofoam bars.

I am certain the driver knew about these two bins because he did not offload his garbage at the other illegal dumpsite which is just up the street. Of course I could be wrong. But the question remains. Why do these people illegally dump their garbage? And in the middle of the day no less!

Resettling Squatters

This is a picture of a field and is part of an area where the local government is building a relocation site for squatters.

It is also the scene of the horrific rape and murder of a six year old girl by her twenty-four year old neighbor. But more of that later. And who wants more of that later? The fact is the local government is resettling hundreds of squatters way out in the middle of sugarcane country without any plan at all except to get them out of the city. 

Let's begin with this scene.

This picture does not capture the reality it represents. This picture was taken on October 20th, 2020 and shows the accumulation of garbage since 2015 or maybe 2016 when people started moving into this area. I do not know when people first started tossing garbage here but what I do know is that no garbage trucks come this way. There is no garbage collection in this area!

The fact is there is no proper infrastructure at all in this area to support a population. There is no running water or sewage. The electric grid is shoddy and jury-rigged. And there are no roads. Don't let the picture above fool you. There is a small area that is paved but the rest is a muddy and rocky mess.

That is an older picture from February but the point is the same. There is no paved road to this part of the resettlement area. 

Along with the people come their animals. Here is a pig. 

Think of everything that goes with raising a pig and you will being to understand the magnitude of filth that is now in this area. Chickens are there too and that leads to crime.

I was told that other people's chickens had been stolen too but only one man dared to put up such a sign.

The local government is clearing some area and making room for more houses. I thought that they would be building apartments of one kind or another but I was told that they are only clearing lots to sell to settlers who can build their own tin roofed bamboo huts.

It's just going to be a mess.  No running water, no trash collection, none of the amenities that should come with life as provided by the city. They are basically on their own.

This article was originally written in November, 2020. While a bridge has been built and a few roads have been paved everything remains basically the same. The fact is the local government is resettling squatters from the city into the country and have provided little to no infrastructure to support them. The area remains covered in filth, squalor, litter, and is a hotbed of crime. 

Night Trash 10

At some point I stopped taking pictures of night trash because I have too many already. As long as there are stray dogs roaming around at night looking for a meal there will always be night trash.

Broken Fluorescent Lights Tossed in the Grass

I have so many pictures of the Philippines that have been holed up on my hard drive waiting to see the light of day. A lot of these pictures are of trash. It really boggles my mind the way people toss their garbage and I don't mean like a bag of household waste or food. That's understandable sure. It's wrong but I get it. What I will never understand is stuff like this:

That is a large pile of fluorescent lights tossed out on the side of the road. How did they get there? Who has this many burned out fluorescent lights to throw on the side of the road? This is not normal house trash. This is the garbage of an electrician. And he did not just toss them on the side of the road. No, he took his time to hide them behind some tall grass.

It's sad but there is nothing to be done about it except look and document. Eventually someone removed these broken lights but they were replaced with bags of garbage and boxes of empty liquor bottles. In the Philippines the environment just can't win.

Is Waste Management A Human Rights Issue?

I have written quite a lot about garbage on this blog. With there being so much of it clogging the waterways and strewn across the ground, the City of Cebu collected 13k tons of garbage in a recent clean-up drive, it seems there is not much new that can be said about the problem. But here is a totally novel angle on the subject. Proper waste disposal and sanitation is a basic human right. So says the CHR.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1143822

Waste management shows how a country values human dignity as the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Tuesday recognized improved efforts in time for the observance of Philippine Environment Month in July.

The CHR likewise lauded the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) order to close down some 335 open dumpsites nationwide.

In a statement, CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said waste management efforts will not only improve environmental sustainability and health outcomes but will surely contribute to the full enjoyment of basic human rights.

"While national and local interventions during the pandemic are largely focused on protecting lives and economies, management of waste is also essential to minimize long-term risks to human and environmental health," she said.

In shutting down open dumpsites, the DENR enforced Republic Act (RA) No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, which provides the necessary policy framework, institutional mechanisms, and mandate for local government units (LGUs) to achieve 25-percent waste reduction through the establishment of an integrated solid waste management plans based on 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycling).

De Guia said environmental degradation can lead to "very serious and continuing violations of our human rights".

"People’s health, food and water safety, housing, and overall well-being can be negatively affected by improper disposal of waste and hazardous materials," she added.

Among the health and environmental risks of illegal dumpsites are the contamination of soil and water, increased risks of natural disasters and health issues, and disruption of wildlife, the CHR said.

"Unlike sanitary landfills, illegal dumpsites do not have built-in systems and constant monitoring for environmental safety," she said.

RA No. 9003 specifically bans the use of open dumpsites for solid waste by any person, including LGUs.

This is in response to the DENR's closing of some 200 open dumpsites across the nation.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1128627

"This is my directive to them: All open dumpsites must be closed by the end of March this year!" he announced Tuesday in a message for the RA 9003's 20th anniversary celebration.

Aside from closing open dumps, he said DENR will help further promote the development of sanitary landfills nationwide, practice of waste segregation at home and improvement of garbage collection.

There'll be house-to-house campaigns as well to promote solid waste management among communities, he noted.

"Yes, we can do it!" he added. "And we must do it! Let us all manage our garbage towards a cleaner, healthier and progressive Philippines."

I know for a fact that not all the dumpsites have been closed because there are several in my area that remain as active as ever. The Philippines has a long way to go in rectifying their garbage problem.

But it is it really an issue of human rights? I don't think so. It's an issue of the social contract nature of the Philippine government needing a major overhaul. The constitution is clear the all political power stems from the people.

We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.

SECTION 1. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/

In practice we know this is not true. Sovereignty does not actually reside in the people and government authority does not actually emanate from them. The people may elect officials but the people do not craft the laws that govern the nation or direct the policy which goes into enforcing those laws. The people certainly had no hand in writing RA 9003. If they did there might not be a provision prohibiting open burning of waste. 

There is also the problem of the people. Can the people violate their own human rights? That would be silly and yet if proper waste disposal is a human rights issue then it seems they are as it is the people who continue to dump their garbage in open dumpsites. Look at this open dumpsite which is actually growing.

Maybe this picture does not show it very well but this dumpsite is getting wider. You can see at the edge of the picture the garbage all along the sugarcane. The people created this mess despite their being signs which said to not dump there. And the government does not care. In fact this dumpsite is just outside the entrance to a village where the government is erecting a huge welcome arch.

The local government would rather spend thousands on trivialities like this arch then fix the garbage issue. That is highly problematic and indicates that the government does not really care about the safety, health, and well-being of the people.

The issue here is not complex at all. The government that the people created needs to enforce the sanitation laws and create the healthy environment that will be conducive to good living for the people. On the other hand the people need to stop flagrantly violating the laws which the government they elected has enacted for their benefit. It is most certainly not a human rights issue. It's a common sense issue. Stop littering and stop tossing garbage on open dumpsites.