Dagupan City council willing to amend garbage ordinance

DAGUPAN CITY—This city’s legislative council is willing to amend Ordinance No. 1929-2009 or the Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Program to ensure compliance among communities and households.

Vice-Mayor Belen T. Fernandez said the Sangguniang Panglungsod can amend the ordinances but a study should be done first if the provisions of the ordinances are indeed being implemented properly.

Fernandez said this as a reaction to the request of Waste Management Division Chief Teddy E. Villamil Jr. to impose higher penalties, including bigger fines and community services, to violators.

Villamil said in an interview that the existing fines, P300–first offense, P500–second offense, and P1000—third offense, are too small that residents are not taking the ordinance seriously.

Varied forms of community services must also be included in the penalty clause so that violators, should they not opt for imprisonment or to pay fines, have the option to choose which services they can render, he added.

Littering, refusal to segregate biodegradable from non-biodegradable wastes, open dumping, and burning of wastes are among the most common violations to the ordinance.

Fernandez said the construction of material recovery facilities (MRF) in every barangay should help the community cope better with the provisions of the ordinance.

The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act or R.A. 9003 mandates the segregation of garbage in every household for easier management by the WMD. (PIA-Pangasinan)