Koronadal City Opens SLF’s Cell No. 2
Koronadal City Opens SLF’s Cell No. 2
The City of Koronadal’s Sanitary Landfill’s (SLF) Cell No.2 at Purok Pagunsan, Barangay Morales, was recently inaugurated led by City Mayor Eliordo U. Ogena, City ENRO Augustus Bretaña, and DENR-EMB XII Regional Director Omar Saikol.
The establishment of the landfill’s second cell, which is estimated to cost around P20M, was finally opened after the first one was closed down. Originally, the first cell was projected to last for eight (8) to ten (10) years but unfortunately it only lasted after five (5) years of operation.
In his speech, City ENRO Bretaña said that he is anticipating that it will take ten (10) to twelve (12) years for the newly opened second cell to be filled-up completely. He therefore urged everyone to observe proper garbage segregation as well as to practice the 3R’s of waste management.
“Kung may intervention kita sang waste diversion, mga sixty percent (60%), ang aton nga forecast nga 8-10 years, by five years indi ini napuno na. That is the reason why dapat we always remind especially ang mga point sources, ang mga rural and urban barangays, if possible ang 3Rs naton bala, reduce, re-use and recycle gamiton gid siya”, Bretaña stated.
Bretaña cautioned that CENRO will be very strict in the enforcement of the entry of the garbage trucks to the SLF. Trucks coming from the barangays with no proper segregation will automatically be declined entry to the site.
“Trucks from the barangays kinahanglan i-scrutinize gid kamo. Indi puwede nga ang gina-dispose niyo diri may upod gali siya nga bio [bio-degradable]. What is i-dispose lang diri is mga plastics lang. Pero karon ang nagakatabo sa sulod sang isa ka saku ara didto may plastic, may hasang, may himbis, so, what do you expect? Pag may nabubulok at di nabubulok, that’s when foul odors come in. Amo na siling ko, very strict ang personnel diri pagsulod pa lang inspeksyunon na siya pagkatapos pag-abot diri, ang spotter pag nag-ula may nakit-an sa tunga, ibalik ang basura, dal-on sa ila barangay”, Bretaña added.
(The trucks from the barangays will be scrutinized. Only non-biodegradable wastes such as plastics will be allowed to enter. While the biodegradable wastes such as fish wastes mixed with non-biodegradables, will not be permitted as it will only result to foul odors. That is the reason why the personnel assigned here will be very strict during the inspection. Once the spotter found out that there are biodegradables being thrown here, they are authorized to give orders to bring the trash back to their respective barangay).
Meanwhile, RD Saikol expressed amazement on the newly built cell no. 2 of the city despite its lesser budget.
“When I saw cell no. 2, sabi ko “one of its kind”. Can you imagine we are in a sanitary landfill but look at the view, sanitary landfill ba ito? No wonder every municipality wants to benchmark here. Sabi ko nga, wow, Twenty Million, puwedeng puwede pala!”, Dir. Saikol said in disbelief.
(When I saw the cell no. 2, I said this is, “one of its kind”. Can you imagine we are in a sanitary landfill but look at the view, is this really a sanitary landfill? No wonder every municipality wants to benchmark here. Wow, with the amount of Twenty Million, it could really be possible!)
With the much-anticipated arrival of a number of giant stores and business establishments in the City of Koronadal, Dir. Saikol stated that he is thrilled and at the same anxious about the said idea.
“Dagdag basura yan. (That’s additional wastes). Excitement comes problem as well.”,Saikol exclaimed.
Meanwhile, RD Saikol also acknowledged the efforts of the city government for coming up with priority programs focusing on the solid waste management and activities which has positive environmental impacts.
On the other hand, Mayor Ogena was candid to say that the city’s SLF is so far one of the best landfills compared to other SLFs he had been to.
“I have been to other sanitary landfill at hindi naman sa nagmamayabang o nagmamalaki tayo, mas maganda itong sanitary landfill natin. Pero umpisa pa lamang ito, because the plan is to transform this sanitary landfill into a park.
However, he encouraged City ENRO Bretaña to plant more trees such as ilang-ilang and other ornamental plants around the SLF to ward off the unpleasant smell coming from the dumping area.
Further, the chief executive urged every Koronadaleño, particularly the punong barangays, to show their cooperation by way of supporting all the programs of the city government.
“So, challenge ito, at sa tulong ng mga barangay captains lalo na sa urban center, magtulungan tayo dito. Hindi kayang gawin ng isa lamang tao ito, given the culture that we have.
(This is a challenge and with the support of the barangay captains especially from the urban center, we have to help each other. This cannot be done by just only one person, given the culture that we have.)
Mayor Ogena concluded his speech by this straightforward pronouncement, “I will be true to myself when I say I want this place to be a progressive city, environment-friendly, garbage free, beautifully- landscaped green city where the people and its communities are truly empowered, highly competitive and resilient.
Following the inauguration of the landfill’s second cell was the launching and blessing of the newly-built administrative building overlooking the new dumping area.
Aside from Mayor Ogena, RD Saikol and CENRO Bretaña, Regional Director Jennifer C. Bretaña of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), some members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, representatives from Provincial Environment Management Office-South Cotabato, some punong barangays of the city, employees from the DENR-EMB XII and the city government and some stakeholders were also present to grace the said event.
The program ended with a “ceremonial dumping” at the newly inaugurated SLF’s second cell.