By Felipe V. Celino
ROXAS CITY, Capiz – Mayor Receliste “Tanoy” Escolin has pledged to resolve the garbage problem in President Roxas, Capiz, by the first quarter of 2025.
Escolin made this commitment during a technical conference with officials from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and the Provincial Environment and Management Unit (PEMU) on Monday, September 2, 2024, at the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) in Barangay Lanot, Roxas City.
Garbage management has been a significant issue in President Roxas town since the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) prohibited the local government unit (LGU) from using an open dumpsite.
Atty. Wilma Lagance, PEMU chief legal officer, provided Escolin with a timeline to fulfill his promises after several concerned individuals raised complaints about the health hazards caused by the improper and unsystematic dumping and collection of garbage, which has long plagued the town.
Lagance warned local officials in President Roxas to refrain from burning and dumping garbage in open dumpsites as it poses health risks to residents.
The technical conference was convened to address the town’s garbage problem following the DENR’s prohibition on using open dumpsites.
“The LGU is seeking solutions to address the problem, but we need time due to budget constraints,” the mayor emphasized, noting that the LGU is searching for a suitable property to establish a sanitary landfill.
Also present during the conference were Julian T. Amador, head of EMB/PEMU Capiz-Aklan, and other stakeholders.
Daily Guardian was the only media entity invited to the conference.
Currently, President Roxas disposes of its garbage at the sanitary landfill in Passi City through a memorandum of agreement (MOA). It was revealed that the LGU of President Roxas pays P1,000 per truckload of garbage.
The LGU has been using the town’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Bliss Pantalan as a temporary dumping site for sacked and segregated garbage before transporting it to the Passi City sanitary landfill.
Escolin has previously faced criticism from several residents of President Roxas for using the town’s public market as a dumping site.
The mayor apologized for the delayed collection of waste, explaining that the town’s two backhoes had experienced mechanical issues.
Several concerned individuals have complained about sacks of garbage being dumped beside the public market of President Roxas, Capiz.
According to a concerned citizen, the garbage has not been collected by the LGU for about a month, posing a danger to the health of residents.
“People around here are suffering, and even passersby are disgusted by the smell of the garbage. What’s worse is that the daycare center is right in front of the garbage dump, causing the children to suffer from the stench. The market and other nearby areas are just piling up with garbage because it is not being collected. You can see sacks of garbage everywhere, even near the Capelco building,” said a certain Jojo in his Facebook post.
A few months ago, the waste from President Roxas was temporarily dumped in the nearby towns of Pontevedra and Pilar. However, the LGUs of those towns only allowed President Roxas one week each to find a new dumpsite.
Escolin stated that the town has an MRF holding area in Bliss Pantalan, Barangay Poblacion, for waste segregation. He reminded residents to segregate their waste before bringing it to the MRF as a temporary dumpsite.
He clarified that the town has been paying P1,000 per truckload every time they dump garbage at the sanitary landfill in Passi City, Iloilo, while searching for an area to establish their own sanitary landfill.
Escolin suggested that the province of Capiz should establish a sanitary landfill between the 1st and 2nd districts of Capiz to make waste disposal more convenient for the towns.
