Voters in the city are encouraged to choose barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) candidates who care for the environment.

Armen Cuenca, chief of the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (CLENRO), said candidates who are committed to securing proper waste segregation here should be exemplified in their desire to run for office.

As the Oct. 30 barangay and SK polls near, Kagay-anons were urged to support candidates with a clear and definite commitment to implement the waste segregation program.

“As what I’ve been saying in radio interviews and social media, I’m asking the Kagay-anons now, if your candidate doesn’t have a clear program on solid waste management (SWM), then don’t support him or her,” Cuenca said in a statement on Thursday.

Cuenca said waste segregation should be implemented at the household level throughout the city.

He said the responsibility of ensuring the full implementation of the program at the household level falls on the barangay officials who are the front-liners.

“On the garbage collection issue, the (frontline responsibility) doesn’t lie solely on City Hall but should be assumed by every barangay through the cooperation of their respective communities,” he added.

Cuenca cited a City Health Office (CHO) study showing zero incidence of dengue cases in Barangays 1 to 40 due to their sustained implementation of the waste segregation program.

Reynaldo Digamo Jr., director of Environmental Management Bureau in Northern Mindanao (EMB-10), has recently ordered the close monitoring of garbage collection in the city’s 80 barangays due to a backlog of 7,000 tons of garbage daily.

Meanwhile, Councilor Roger Abaday said barangay and SK leaders should take the lead in implementing waste segregation in their communities in compliance with the Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

Aside from contracting a new garbage collection firm, the city government is also implementing a citywide cleanup program every last Friday of the month.

Solid waste mobile app

Meanwhile, CLENRO recently launched a mobile electronic application called “Oro Kalimpyo Mobile Collection.” The app is made by students from Southern Technical Institute (STI) who introduced their work to the City Information Office (CIO).

CLENRO has also partnered with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) through the Healthy Oceans Clean Cities Program for funding by the Japanese government. (PNA)