WATERWAYS CLEAN UP. Personnel from different government agencies help clean the tributary of the Balili River located in the municipality of La Trinidad, Benguet during the launching of the “Kalinisan program” of the national government on Jan. 6, 2024. The Baguio City government is strengthening its efforts to clean waterways with the help of the public by urging against the dumping of solid or liquid waste into waterways. (PNA file photo by Liza T. Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – The city government here has stepped up efforts to protect the water systems that drain in neighboring towns and low-lying provinces as it lauds more villages that comply with the No Pigpen Ordinance passed in 2021.
“The City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) will strictly implement a one-strike-policy in the issuance of notice of violation (NOV) to residents and establishments illegally discharging excrement and septage into the open environment,” city chief information officer Aileen Refuerzo Monday.
Violators will be meted an administrative penalty of PHP5,000 and will be tasked to implement necessary corrective measures in place of any legal action by the city government.
Discharging wastewater and other discards like grease and used oil into the city’s waterways, leaking or overflowing septic tanks, soil dumping of solid waste, burning of garbage or solid waste, hog-raising activities, and discharge of animal waste in inland waterways, are among the classified violations of Ordinance 18-2016 or the City Environment Code.
CEPMO records show 562 individuals were issued NOV in 2023 for violating the City Environmental Code.
CEPMO has commended eight villages -- Barangays Pinsao Pilot, Holyghost Extension, Leonila Hill, Ambiong, Rookspoint, Dizon-Manzanillo, Happy Homes and Pinget -- for complying with the city government’s ban on hog-raising and closure of piggeries.
The City Environment Code on the prohibition of hog-raising activities was implemented starting in 2000, with the end of that year as the deadline, since these were identified as the cause of pollution on waterways, specifically the Balili and Bued rivers.
Before the city implemented the total closure of piggeries in 2020, the city’s piggery population was at more than 700. The number dwindled to more than 200 towards the deadline set by the city in January 2020.
CEPMO data show that as of Jan. 10, 2024, at least 27 of the city’s 128 villages have not fully complied with the ordinance prohibiting hog raising in the city. (PNA)
