The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) is closely monitoring barangays to ensure compliance with Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte’s 2023 memorandum, which required regular clean-up drives to address the flooding problems in the city.
CENRO Environmental Waste and Management Division Head Engr. Lakandula Orcullo said during Thursday’s I-Speak Media Forum that barangays have been reminded to submit reports on their clean-up and information campaigns.
“Last month, we again wrote to the barangays to follow up on their compliance with the mayor’s memo,” he said, noting that many have already submitted their reports.
The memorandum directed barangays to strictly enforce City Ordinance No. 0361-10, or the Davao City Ecological Waste Management Ordinance. It also called for stronger information drives on proper waste disposal, stricter enforcement with penalties, community participation in clean-ups, and a reporting system for garbage accumulation near waterways.
Orcullo reminded barangays that under the ordinance, they may deputize enforcers to issue citation tickets to violators. These deputized enforcers, he said, can serve as force multipliers in implementing the Ecological Waste Management
Ordinance.
He reported that CENRO currently has 70 enforcers, who apprehended 422 violators in August alone. From January to August this year, 2,050 violators were recorded—mostly for littering and dumping garbage in public places. Along the coastal road, 163 violators were caught in just the last three weeks of August.
Orcullo added that their office continue to manage the solid waste disposal at the New Carmen, Tugbok sanitary landfill. They are currently waiting the arrival of two new dump trucks to manage the existing landfill, as well as the new sanitary landfill, which is now 70 percent complete.
He also stressed that CENRO continues to conduct information dissemination activities in barangays to encourage compliance with city ordinances on solid waste management.
Orcullo urged Dabawenyos to take part in these efforts, practice discipline, and help keep Davao City clean and safe. CIO
