City to expand Sardinas Ko project in coastal areas

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City government eyes to expand the Basura Mo, Sardinas Ko program in the coastal barangays of the city.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña announced this during his regular press conference yesterday.

“The coastal barangays are the logical target. One consideration, atong pilion where the people throw garbage in the drainage,” he told reporters.

Earlier, the mayor mentioned that these barangays include Tejero, Quiot and Tinago. However, he has no definite date yet when he will implement the expansion.

He said the objective of the project is to remove the floating trash in the coastal areas so that there is a regular flow of sea water.

“We should start cleaning the drainage from the outlet which is the sea, then going upwards,” Osmeña said.

By clearing the coastal areas from floating trash, it would help in addressing the drainage problem.

“Remember drainage flows one way.So you start the cleaning from the outlet, don’t start in the inside because it would flood in the lower part. That is causing our drainage problems,” the mayor further said.

Osmeña claimed that this project has been effective in barangays Cogon Pardo and Lahug where the city government first executed the project.

It was in January this year that the city government launched the project in the two barangays.

Since it started, the city has already purchased P5 million worth of sardines charged to the Accelerated Social Amelioration Program account.

In Cogon Pardo, garbage collection is from 9 a.m. to noon and in Lahug, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The city will give sardines to people who throw their trash directly to the city-owned compactor trucks.

One plastic of trash is equivalent to one can of sardines, while a sack of garbage entitles a resident to two cans of sardines.

The project is patterned from a program implemented in Curitiba, Brazil where individuals are encouraged to collect trash in exchange of goods. (FREEMAN)