WITH 98.43 percent of households in Puerto Princesa City affirming that they are aware of the requirement to segregate biodegradable waste from non-bio-degradable before collection, one would think the capital of the province of Palawan would have no problem when it comes to solid waste management.
In this particular instance, one would be mistaken.
A joint team of government auditors and members of the Puerto Princesa Foundation for Shelter and Environmental Protection Inc. has disclosed that the city’s garbage collection services have been killing initiatives to reduce the volume of waste that ends up in the landfill.
Their finding was contained in a 56-page report submitted to the office of City Mayor Lucilo Bayron last September 27.
Out of 372 households polled by auditors, only 42 (11.3 percent) said the city’s garbage collectors observe the “No Segregation, No Collection Policy.”
On the other hand, in 296 respondent households (79.6 percent) the collectors haul the trash whether it was segregated or not. The remaining 34 (9.1 percent) said they had no idea whether the collectors required compliance.
Auditors learned that in 2023, a series of trainings were organized on financial management, modules, and workshops relative to the Solid Waste Management Plans. However, they were only given to personnel of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (City ENRO) and Oplan Linis.
“It was noted that there were no trainings facilitated by the CHO [City Health Office], nor were any specifically conducted for the collectors. No necessary training was given to the collectors and personnel to ensure proper handling of solid waste,” the report pointed out.
As far as the residents are concerned, a big majority (325 out of 385 respondents) said they conscientiously practice segregation because they are aware that it is good for the environment.
In fact, 74 percent assured the audit team they practice segregation daily while 23.4 percent said they do it every other day. Only 2.4 percent said they do not do any segregation of generated trash.
The surveyed city residents credited their barangay officials (61 percent) for campaigning through barangay assemblies to boost awareness about the city’s Solid Waste Management Plan. Another 24.7 percent said they learned the policy through city officials and 22 percent from the media.
In its 2022 Financial Statements, the city government of Puerto Princesa said it spent P35.06 million for “environment and sanitary services” which covers hauling contracts for trash generated by residents, commercial activities, and other sources in the city.
