• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Mayor Greg Gasataya said Jan. 4 that about 4,000 cubic meters of garbage have been collected from major and secondary roads, and reported illegal dumpsites across Bacolod, since the start of the year.
Gasataya earlier ordered the new waste collector, joint venture consortium ISWIMS (International Solid Waste Integrated Management Specialists Inc.)/D.C. Sandil Construction and Realty Development Inc./San Igmedio Builders Inc., to address the weeklong garbage backlog left by the former contractor, IPM-Construction and Development Corp., during the holiday season.
ISWIMS won the P327.9 million collection/hauling and disposal of garbage service contract until end of this year, with the deal ratified by the Sangguniang Panlungsod during a special session Jan. 2.
Gasataya said the city “prioritized the clearing of backlogs resulting from previous gaps in collection. We expect a total clean-up.”
But the mayor noted incidents of re-dumping in previously-cleared areas, and is urging barangays to help secure cleared areas, prevent illegal dumping, and ensure discipline and compliance of residents.
“We have coordinated the matter of illegal dumping with the Bacolod City Police Office for proper enforcement. With shared effort and responsibility, we can sustain order and ensure lasting cleanliness across our city,” he stressed.
He also said the operation of the sanitary landfill in Barangay Felisa has normalized, as of Jan. 3, following a chokepoint “due to the highly-saturated condition the site had been left in.”
Gasataya said that ISWIMS, which also won the P109-million environmental and sanitary services contract for the management, operation, and maintenance of the sanitary landfill facility, implemented “engineering interventions…to expedite dumping operations, including surface grading, coordinated dumping with proper compaction, and the application of topsoil cover for site stabilization.”
ISWIMS operational capacity included around 60 units of heavy equipment, like garbage trucks and compactors, deployed across Bacolod since Jan. 1, the city earlier said.
“We assure that we are pouring everything that we can into making our solid waste management consistent, efficient, and reliable,” Gasataya said in a statement yesterday. | CGC
