Cebu City Councilor Harold Go is calling for a sustained campaign against illegal dumping, warning that trash accumulating in waterways can restrict drainage and worsen flooding during heavy rains.
Go made the call through a proposed resolution urging the city government to strengthen enforcement against littering and improper waste disposal along rivers, creeks, esteros, canals and drainage channels.
The proposal seeks to shift the city’s approach from repeatedly clearing clogged waterways to preventing garbage from reaching them in the first place.
“Clearing waterways of garbage without simultaneously addressing the continued act of illegal dumping results in a recurring cycle,” the resolution states.
Under the proposal, the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO), Cebu Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement Team (CESET) and environmental officers from the city’s 80 barangays would coordinate enforcement efforts.
The offices would identify illegal dumping hotspots and conduct regular and randomized monitoring in areas considered at high risk.
Go’s proposal also calls for visible “NO DUMPING” signs that indicate prohibited acts and corresponding fines.
It also recommends the lawful use of existing CCTV systems to document violations and the strict enforcement of penalties against habitual offenders, subject to due process.
The proposed crackdown would cover individuals as well as businesses and other waste generators.
Businesses, contractors and garbage haulers could face legal action when evidence shows that they dumped waste, or caused waste to be dumped, in public areas or waterways.
The resolution also calls for continuing public information campaigns on garbage collection schedules, proper disposal facilities and the connection between waste disposal and flooding.
Residents would also be provided with accessible channels to report illegal dumping.
CCENRO would maintain records of reported dumping sites, identified hotspots, enforcement activities and the disposition of cases.
Go linked the proposed enforcement drive to the city’s flood-control efforts, noting that accumulated garbage can obstruct stormwater flow from upland areas toward coastal outfalls.
The resolution cites Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and Republic Act No. 9275, or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004, which prohibit improper waste disposal and protect waterways from pollution.
The proposed resolution would not create new penalties or enforcement bodies by itself.
Its implementation would depend on existing laws and city ordinances, available resources and action by the concerned city offices.
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