Cesspools and allied matters

Nora Soriño . 

ILIGAN City–Mincing no words, President Duterte tagged Boracay as a “cesspool.” And the officials must do something about it within six months, or else!

Now, cesspool is synonymous with septic tanks. As in, the millennials say. Something very dirty, to warrant strong feelings that need exclamation points, along with question marks. As in there is trouble in paradise and Boracay risks of  becoming a “paradise lost.”

Yet, that situation is not a monopoly of Boracay alone. Every place in this imperfect existence of ours has his own “cesspool” tales. Consider this city.

It is known now that there are “leachate” contaminating water sources. These all come from the “basurahan” at Bonbonon, a hinterland barangay of this city where said garbage disposal unit is located.

Black and brown liquid coming from the garbage being dumped there then flow into streams and into a falls about a couple of kilometers from there. I won’t tell the name of that falls for the moment. To note, this city is proud of the “city of waterfalls” tagged to it like a family name.

As in Boracay, some people there near barangay Bonbonon are said to be having skin problems and many attribute these from that uh, “cesspool.” I mean, the liquid, black and brown ones called “leachate” courtesy of the garbage mostly from the other barangays. It did not help that people from another city suddenly descended on this city beginning May 2017 bringing with them their cars, money, behaviors and yes, garbage!

The city government under mayor Celso Regencia now is in “no segregation, no collection” policy mode. This is as regards garbage disposal. For one thing, the DENR too is in the “or else” mode. As in do something about the situation within a period of… or else! More to the point: the National Solid Waste Management Commission led by Commissioner Romeo Hidalgo has filed a case against Regencia for that “sin.” Of course, it is not this city alone that has a case like that. There are other local government units too as it is now against the law to maintain open dump sites. And they have their own “cesspool” tales.

Time was when that “cesspool” there at Bonbonon promised of paradise. Well, almost. The envisioned Central Material Recovery and Facility (CMRF) dreamed of a five-hectare facility to be operated by the city.

It was composed of two major components, the infrastructure development and the institutionalization program which included access road development, and construction of the following buildings there, namely: materials recovery and composting facility, special waste and hazardous facility, administration building, warehouses, guardhouse, motorpool, and agri-demo farms in the area.

The total area of Sitio Bangko of Bonbonon barangay is 11.5 hectares but only five hectares are to be used by the CMRF, including the structures to be built.

The CMRF, in — was it 2012, then was inaugrated. It boasted of a “world-class” garbage disposal facility. It was reported to have cost the city P120 million.

In time, though, something went wrong. The machines could not grind all the tons of unseggregated garbage delivered there and they broke down. And the access road? It wasn’t improved and very hazardous to drivers and garbage men. Once, a dump truck driver fell there together with his truck on its way to the CMRF at Bonbonon. So, instead of reaching the CMRF, it  was onto kingdom come for the hapless driver.

The CMRF then, became just another dump site. An open one just like the previous dump site at barangay Santiago before the building of the CMRF at Bonbonon.

And the citizens at these uptown barangays drink from said streams because they do not have access to these waters enjoyed by those living in the downtown barangays of the city. To note, the land area of the hinterland barangays comprise 80 percent of the total land area although their total population is much less.

This situation is really a problematic one. How we wish that this “no segregation, no collection” garbage policy is the beginning of the path to righteousness as far as garbage disposal is concerned. (The previous administration’s policy of segregation policy fell on deaf ears.)

Each barangay will now have a barangay materials recovery facility with the barangays officials responsible for doing it. With an ordinance, of course from the Sanggunian, I’m sure — and the right funding for each barangay. Hoping that in time, the machines there can be repaired. But in the meantime, the dump site there at Bonbonon becomes an ocean of garbage.

By the way, the “no segregation, no collection” policy is just 55% followed  these days, according to the head of the Public Services Division, Jun Lino Bacus.

But the ocean of garbage becomes bigger and bigger day by day, by day. At Bonbonon. So, even with these actions, there’s that “too little too late” spectacle hovering.

How do you solve a problem like ‘basura’ then? The present administration could always blame the past administration of then mayor Lawrence Cruz and the others before. Because this all began earlier. I mean, this is a project of that earlier administration. And the word “corruption” comes in, too. Like, a staircase in the construction of a building in the CMRF cost P25 thousand. P25 thousand? Should have been only P24,900. Just kidding.

There was an earlier attempt to relocate the open dump site at another area, in Abuno, far from Bonbonon. While the “world-class” facility is being repaired. “But politics got in the way,” said Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz. Hence, this open dump site at the envisioned “world class” facility, which did not run smooth. It became then an open dump site, just like the one it had left at barangay Santiago!

(During the first term of Regencia, all the councilors of the city, save for one, were all opposition.)

Yet changes in “basura” requires change involving everybody as in “change begins in me.” This is not for the city officials alone.

Everybody must help, even in his own stupid, uh, I mean, simple way.

Wait, I think I see some “basura”’ thrown in a side street by someone invisible for the moment. I think, I have to pick that up and place that in the “malata” garbage can. But that garbage can, where that… Banish the thought of picking that damn garbage for now… it is somebody else garbage anyway and I have other concerns at the moment.