CICC poop costs city P150T weekly

CEBU, Philippines - The Mandaue City government is spending at least P150,000 per week for the siphoning of waste in portalets at the evacuation site in Cebu International Convention Center.

“The city spends P2,500 per portalet para hakot sa hugaw. There are 30 to 35 portalets sa evacuation camp,” said city spokesperson Roger Paler.

Paler said the siphoning is being done by a private company every three days.

Apart from this spending, the city is also feeding the 2,222 families who were left homeless by last month’s fire in barangays Guizo and Mantuyong.

Paler said he could not give the exact amount but the city has shelled out a large sum of money to feed the victims and ensure that their stay at the CICC grounds is “humane.”

Earlier, city administrator James Abadia said that for the first three days alone, they have already spent P1 million for the food of the close to 10,000 individuals.

There used to be 2,362 families listed as victims, but the figure was reduced to 2,222 after it was discovered that there were double entries and non-victims who were on the list.

Paler said the city could not yet receive the promised financial assistance due to the election ban, which prohibits the release of aid. The city has promised to give each house owner P10,000, and P5,000 to sharer or renter.

Meanwhile, Paler said the five camps created at the evacuation site have each designated their leaders to help maintain peace and order and ensure that each camp does not stink.

The garbage collection is done by the city thrice a day, as each family has to empty their garbage bins when the garbage truck is at the CICC gate (vehicles are not allowed inside the CICC). There are four to five tons of waste collected from the camps each day.

“Sa una magpataka ra na sila og labay sa basura. Karon, nahinayhinay na og kat-on,” said the city spokesperson.

Almost one month after the fire, Paler said, the families have reportedly gotten used to the camp life. They could not go back to the old site yet, as the city has to reblock the area before they are allowed to rebuild their homes.

A number of families are building houses at the camp site, which Paler said is allowed but “regulated,” especially on the size of the shanty. He said it is also fine to put up “sari-sari” stores as long as the owners do not let delivery trucks inside the CICC. A number of sari-sari stores are now noticeable inside the camp.

“Okay ra na’ng mga temporary houses, basta di lang palabi. Naa man sila’y camp rules on that. Ang mga naninda pud, gi-tolerate lang na nato, panginabuhian man sad na nila, basta di lang pasudlon ang mga supplier,” he said.

The camp’s main problem, Paler further said, is the extreme heat. He said the leaders were already advised to report to the command center any member getting sick because of the heat so as not to aggravate the problem.

The common illnesses listed by the city’s standby medical team are cough and cold, and hypertension. (FREEMAN)