HEALTH HAZARD
SP help sought in Calinog waste-spill

By Florence F. Hibionada

A plea for immediate action was made to the Iloilo Sanggunian Panlalawigan (SP) by one Iloilo town relative to the recurring waste-spill from an adjacent town's dump site.

Tackled in Tuesday's session, the SP body got the official request from the Municipality of Bingawan seeking immediate action on the matter.

Contained in Resolution No. 2005-44, said Bingawan appeal further seeks the Iloilo SP to ask for similar immediate attention from the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro).

The waste spill, it stated, comes from the Calinog Municipal Dump Site in Barangay Ulayan closeby Bingawan's Barangay Cairohan.

With the onset anew of rainy season, members of the Bingawan Sanggunian Bayan raised the longtime concern saying wastes and garbage fluids and other litter spill and overflow in the area. This was further confirmed and validated by a recent ocular inspection made in the said dumpsite.

If continued to be left unabated, Bingawan municipal officials contend health conditions of barangay folks in Barangay Cairohan will be greatly affected and exposed to various kinds of diseases.

The health hazard, the complaining officials added, is not only water-borne but also airborne as evident of the foul odor “ever-present in the populated areas of Barangay Cairohan.”

The matter has since been brought to the attention of Calinog officials back in 2002 yet remains unresolved to date.

Reached for comment, Calinog Mayor Alex Centena told The News Today efforts are underway to transfer the dumpsite from Barangay Ulayan to Barangay Nalbugan.

The imminent transfer however, awaits and will be realized as soon as weather conditions allow. Yet as Mayor Centena added, it has been approved by the Calinog municipal council while saying he has already spoken with Bingawan Mayor Ted Plagata.