Waste board confirms sanitation IRR

ILOILO CITY – The Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) of this city has approved and confirmed on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the sanitation management mechanics of the Iloilo City Environment Code of 2004.”

City mayor and board chairman Jerry P. Treñas issued Executive Order No. 26 Series of 2009 adopting the IRR of Title VIII and pertinent sections of Title VII in relation to Title V of Regulation Ordinance No. 2004-149 otherwise known as the Environmental Code of the City of Iloilo.

The mayors’ executive order will likewise call for the deputization of barangay officials and other persons as Sanitation Officers tasked to monitor and apprehend persons found violating the law.

The IRR is expected to give more teeth to the solid waste initiatives and its general launching and eventual implementation is slated next month. This will also allow barangay officials enough time for study on the IRR of the environmental and sanitation code in their respective barangay.

Treñas said the regulation ordinance was enacted to ensure the protection and conservation of the city’s environment and natural resources. The ordinance further recognizes solid wastes as a major development concern and prescribes policies and measures for effective and efficient management to attain better quality of life in the context of ecological, social and economic security.

On the other hand, the solid waste management board recognizes the importance of converting the open dumpsite into a sanitary landfill by instituting reforms and transitional initiatives at the Calajunan dumpsite.

Treñas said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau had approved a gradual transitional of the dumpsite into a sanitary landfill after it has issued a closure order of the dumpsite in 2007.

The DENR closure order has given five years or until 2012 for transitional measures to be in placed at the dumpsite which the city government is currently undertaking several measures and projects with the cooperation of DENR, GTZ and the waste board.

By Lydia C. Pendon