Mind your trash

Two years ago I wrote a series on the garbage situation of Bácolod and the city government responded with a series of laudable moves, like creating a Clean and Green Committee that continues to address the garbage problem of the city, albeit slowly. The citizens’ response is just as slow and sometimes indifferent but, like completing a long journey, the first steps were taken.

In 2010, the city announced that it is planning to privatize the collection of garbage as in other cities in the Philippines and other countries. As usual the opposition twitted the plan, but somehow the opposition faded with the conclusion of the election, where the camp that opposed the privatization lost, as the voters’ decided who should continue the administration of the city.

Bidding began this year to choose the contractor but while there was a winner, the winner waited and was disqualified. I even prematurely wrote that Dynamics Builders won the bidding and was given the contract. It was not so.

I had presumed that when a bidder is accepted to submit its proposal, it has been qualified because it stands to reason that a bidder should be qualified in the first place before being allowed to participate. What is the point in asking a person or entity to bid only to be told he or it is not qualified at all?

But government bureaucracy is sometimes crazy, unreasonable and whimsical – why allow somebody to bid without first checking its credentials, competence and qualifications? Anyway we just have to live with that system that, in truth does not stop corruption but many times even abet it.

Anyway that is what it is. Rules are rules and government workers have no choice but comply or they get dragged to the Ombudsman. There are citizens of this city who make their living by filing cases against public officials.

And so we are back to square one. The present garbage collection already admitted to be inefficient and ineffectual just has to stay as it is. When the city’s plan would get going, we really cannot predict.

Councilor Catalino Alisbo took a different tack which complements privatization and can make garbage collection either by a private contractor or the city easier and therefore more effective.

At least in theory, but like all theories and wonderful plans, they can just be as good as the piece of paper they were written on.

In one of my columns on garbage, I suggested that each house and building be responsible for their front yard. This is not uncommon but part of our culture although we tend to throw trash anywhere but our yard we guard zealously that nobody uses it as a garbage dump. I also saw some janitors sweeping the front of their buildings. This shows that is a matter of adopting a public policy for this purpose.

The SP has already approved in the third and final reading the Alisbo proposal. Its last stop is Mayor Evelio Leonardia.

The ordinance penalizes those who do not clean their front yard, which includes not putting their garbage in front as we find in most houses and buildings. When the garbage is not collected they accumulate and the house or building owner does nothing and just waits until the trash is collected.

The sight of these bundles and heap of trash is common. Dogs, cats, rats, cockroaches and vermin compete with the scavengers. In India you can throw in monkeys in the competition.

I have not read the entire proposed ordinance but what came out in the papers is that it provides penalties in detail.

While I welcome this proposed ordinance I believe it is another waste. I am certain Alisbo and the SP are happy with it but what they have done is make another ordinance that cannot be enforced. In fact, I have not read which city agency is mandated to enforce it.

Should it be the Department of Public Services, the City Legal Office, the PNP or Clean and Green Committee, which does not have any police power? Or should barangay officials be made responsible since they ought to be accountable?

There are many aspects of this ordinance that insure its failure. Sure citizens are responsible for their trash, but what happens when passersby drop their trash in front of the store? They cannot post an employee just to police their surroundings nor can they arrest (despite the theory of a citizen’s arrest) without inviting trouble.

Many ordinances are not enforced because nobody is responsible or those responsible don’t act. Need we cite examples? When everybody is responsible, nobody is accountable.

The ordinance is good but it needs to be thought out well to avoid more trouble. The SP should make it workable. We can mind our trash but who’s going to mind those of others?*

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