Various local government departments of the City Government convened and dialogued with coastal communities last April to explore interventions amid reports of garbage dumping and persisting open defecation.
Ancillary Services Unit (ASU) Head Paul Bermejo, during the I-Speak media forum on Thursday, said that the local government offices’ attention was called after a report of open dumping near the coastal road.
“Ang City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), ASU, and Barangay and Cultural Communities Affairs Division (BCCAD) nag convene mi initially and on the third week of April last month in that community, and nagpahayag na’g commitment ang local government offices (The Cenro, Asu, and Bccad, we have convened initially on the third week of April last month in that community, various local government offices have already made their commitments),” Bermejo said.
He said that strengthening the campaign against open defecation, putting up Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) on the coastal road, issuance of citation tickets by CENRO for those caught red-handed dumping their garbage in the area, revitalization of hydroponics and aquaponics, and training on containerized gardening are among the commitments of the city offices to remedy the concerns on waste management in the coastal area.
Bermejo said that if the residents won’t be able to pay for the citation tickets, they might face charges before the court.
He added that CENRO also committed to conducting house-to-house campaigns.
“Naghimo mi’g team.. para sa tanang coastal areas of Davao City because we know that Población of Davao City is an outfall of the rivers. Duha ka river, ang Talomo River, and Pangi River (We created a team for all the coastal areas of Davao City because we know that Población of Davao City is an outfall. In fact, there are two rivers, the Talomo River, and Pangi River,” Bermejo said, adding that the team will meet monthly to evaluate the programs and projects implemented in the coastal community.
He added that before this move, the city government, through Executive Order 41 series of 2017 had designated all Saturday mornings of every month as seacoast and riverbanks clean-up time in the barangays and consequently, created the Bantay Dagat Protection and Conservation program attached to the ASU of the City Mayor’s office.
Bermejo said that Bantay Dagat volunteers have been active since its creation and in fact, they collect an average of 2,600 sacks of garbage every month.
Bermejo said it is still a challenge for city offices and communities to manage the waste downstream since the waste going to these areas comes from the various parts of the city.
“Siguro kinahanglan pa gyud nato doblehon ang atong paningkamot aron mahinluan nato ang downstreams nato in Davao City (Maybe we need to double our efforts to clean our downstream in Davao City),” he said, adding that waste management has been a perennial problem due to lack of discipline, which is why they seek to strengthen awareness for the protection of the coastlines and riverbanks.
He further noted that for May, the World Ocean Month, they expect to have barangays, uniformed personnel, reservists, Non-Government Offices, associations, students, teachers, various groups, and organizations to help the 350 Bantay Dagat volunteers under the Bantay Dagat program in the weekly clean-up. CIO
