Limpyo Tacloban Program

The proper waste disposal in the city had been a persisting problem ever since. The City Comprehensive Development Plan for 1998-2007 has cited that as the population grows, the problem on wastes also grows. The rampant solid waste mismanagement in the city had led to the conceptualization of a prevailing program that would play down the effects it bring and eventually establish a control on this aspect. In the city, around 80 to 90 tons of solid waste is produced by its constituents. However, only 80 percent of this is being collected by the Garbage Collection Unit of the city.

The need to establish a supplementary program to strengthen the comprehensive waste management system of the city arose from the objective to create a clean city. The Limpyo Tacloban Program was instituted as one of the priority projects of the City Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez. The program was consigned under the supervision of the City Human Resource Management and Development Office having Dr. Teofila H. Brosas as the project overseer. This was later embraced by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office with other concerned offices in 2010 up to the present.

Various activities were designed which are currently being enacted by the manpower behind this program. Advocacies on the conduct of environmental information education campaigns were acted out. This was to continuously disseminate the nature and underlying facts about solid waste management. Visual materials such as flyers and brochures were produced in support to the campaigns. Furthermore, with the approval of this program, the City Ordinance on Anti-littering was enforced. Designated manpower to ensure the execution of this city ordinance was deployed especially in the apprehension of the ordinance violators and issuance of citation tickets to the said violators. The most important activity in connivance with this program is the daily street cleaning and sweeping in maintaining the downtown and other areas of the city free from litters and wastes. The employment of job order street sweepers known as X-men had been a substantial contribution in the realization of this program. These so-called X-men are on day and night working shifts. The realization of this daily street cleaning and sweeping has contributed a lot on the promotion of city tourism as the major city streets where business and recreation establishments are located were maintained in terms of its cleanliness. Moreover, the healthy environment status of the city is monitored.

Since its inception in 2007, Limpyo Tacloban Program had shown remarkable developments in terms of the cleanliness of the city. Several stories had been accounted especially on its positive results and impacts to the city. This elevated the status of the city from being dirtiest in the region to one of the clean cities in the entire Philippines.

In fact, the city government of Tacloban was recognized by the World Health Organization through the Department of Health Central Office being an outstanding implementer of local initiatives on health, sanitation and environment programs last year. The continuous facilitation of the program in compliance to the city’s policies on environmental management and natural-related activities of the city led the Sangyaw Foundation, Inc. to identify the Limpyo Tacloban X-men as honorees of this year’s Sangyaw Achievement and Excellence Awards in Special Sangyaw Citation on Everyday Heroism category.

The Limpyo Tacloban Program is a manifestation of innovation itself. When Hon. Alfred S. Romualdez took duty as the Local Chief Executive, he initiated a modification of development efforts in the city which later on gave birth to this program. The Task Force “Limpyo Tacloban” was established to instigate a massive clean-up drive all over the city. The idea behind this was adopted by Hon. Cristina G. Romualdez to establish supplementary programs on beautification and cleanliness of the city. Limpyo Tacloban Program does not only focus to the physical clean-up of the entire city. The said program continued with the implementation of its second phase to straighten the ways and means in the city government thus eliminating graft and corruption. The establishment of good governance was included in the total concept of the Limpyo Tacloban Program. This was also to create a positive attitude and values of all the people working within the city government. The existence of Limpyo Tacloban Program in the city government is an advantage. Therefore, the intensifying implementation and the positive results generated from it could also be applicable to other local government units. The replication and transfer of the said program is not a major predicament considering its simple and straightforward nature. This is a commendable program in the maintenance of a healthy environment not only for the city of Tacloban but for other cities and municipalities in Eastern Visayas. The untiring effort and all out support of the City Mayor and other concerned offices to this program has yielded positive and significant upshots. This was also achieved by the active support of the constituents of the city of Tacloban and the key program implementers, the so-called X-men.

By: Jed Paolo Cairo

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