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[av_heading heading=’The politics and economics of segregation’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY IKE SEÑERES
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Tuesday, January 3, 2017
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IN THEORY, it is the function of the Legislative Branch to make the laws, and it is in turn the function of the Executive Branch to implement the laws.
Also in theory, the Legislative Branch is supposed to have oversight functions over the Executive Branch, in such a way that it could monitor whether or not the latter is doing its part in implementing the laws or not.
Furthermore, it could be said that the Executive Branch is in effect reporting to the Legislative Branch whether or not it has done its part in implementing the laws, each time it would appear before the Legislative Branch during the budget hearings. Sad to say, the present realities that we now see are very far from the theories.
Due perhaps to the high quality of our educational system, we produce lawmakers that are very good in crafting the laws, in excellent language at that. We often brag that we are better in English than our neighbors, even including those that have been under British rule. We could even think that the laws of our neighbors are poorly crafted and are badly worded, but we could just stop there because we know for a fact that compared to us, their laws are better monitored and are better implemented.
As it is supposed to be, it is supposed to be the Legislative Branch that should be monitoring the Executive Branch whether it is implementing the laws as it should do. On the other hand, it is supposed to be the Executive Branch that should report regularly to the Legislative Branch on the status of implementation.
Without any doubt, it could be said that the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 is probably one of the best crafted and best worded laws that came out of the Legislative Branch. Again sad to say, we could not say that that law has become one of the best implemented laws in the hands of the Legislative Branch from the year 2000 up to now.
You can say what you want to say about this issue, but the bottom line is that up to now, after about sixteen years, our solid wastes are still not being segregated, and corollary to that, our solid wastes still end up in the dumpsites, not segregated as these are supposed to be.
In my previous column, I wrote that fully compliant landfills could hardly be found, as required by the law. As a reaction to that column, reader Mr. Noel Argamosa sent a website link where it says that Legaspi City has already succeeded in building a fully compliant sanitary landfill. While that piece of news may already be a cause for celebration, it actually provides us with a study of contrasts, because it still reminds us that out of more than a thousand Local Government Units (LGUs), only one has complied with the law so far.
Also in reaction to that column, reader Mr. Jose Luis Yulo wrote: “You hit the nail on the head. It’s plain corruption on the municipal level that continues to undermine the Solid Wastes Law. DENR is toothless to implement it and judges are on the take too. Maybe it’s when they are wallowing in garbage that they will develop some common sense and common good will.”
When I wrote him back to say that perhaps an alternative business approach is needed, he replied: “Garbage management needs to be treated like an industry that is run in a professional manner by private enterprises: from segregation at source, collection at source, hauling to a site for further segregation, recycling of re-useable waste, land-filling of the un-useable un-recyclable waste residue. A company I co-invested in participated in a biding of the MMDA for this project in 2000, won the bid fair and square, but the project was illogically halted by corrupt judges upon a petition by a losing bidder who wanted to charge double the winning bid! Many of the country’s problems are caused by “hoodlums in robes.”
After reading about the Legaspi City project, Mr. Yulo wrote back: “That would be great! Garbage to be treated as a raw material for recycling. Now, we need to find out how to appoint a particular company to collect the waste of a certain territory.”
Based on what Yulo told us, we could surmise that some private citizens have already tried to bring in their own solutions, but have been discouraged because of the corruption that they encountered.
One of them is reader Mr. Howard Mijares who wrote: “I went thru all the possible ways to introduce the best technology for waste disposal to include localizing the approach. What I have learned from all the years we went around the LGUs is sadly they really don’t care unless a case is imminent. There is so much money involved in waste. The garbage as identified is really in the mindset of these so called leaders of government which always look to where they will benefit personally. We have dysfunctional leaders who shout to the high heavens of their love for the environment but in reality …it’s always the bottom line of what is in it for me. Until we have real leaders. There may be a chance but for now it’s all zarzuela.”
Well, I know for a fact that Mr. Mijares has not given up and he is still trying.
As a matter of fact, Mijares also wrote: “The way is to show a successful showcase. This entails the deployment of “dyaryo / bote / garapa” pushcarts manned by the economically challenged. They have areas to cover and households are mandated by the municipality/cities to segregate household wastes or if not to be picked up.
The segregated items will be purchased on site (houses) by the pushcarts and will be brought to a redemption area for wholesale sale and proper processing of each type of household wastes. The effect is enormous savings by the LGUs and the economic benefits to many out of work people.
The redemption area is a showcase also for school children to actually see how their household wastes are handled for the end view of education for the future mindset on handling wastes.
We are still trying and hopefully they may consider due to the overwhelming wastes generated every year.
We even pointed out in one of our discussions with the LGUs and the DOH that the cases of mosquito dengue epidemic are high on areas that have open dumpsites which was later confirmed by DOH. Strangely, the mosquitoes are mutating due to the mix of toxic and medical waste in the dumpsites./PN
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