Kalunasan stench being addressed

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella has assured that the city government is addressing the situation in Barangay Kalunasan which is under the state of calamity since August 2019.

This, after frustration arose from residents who believe that the government is not doing enough measures to solve their predicament.

In August 2019, Barangay Kalunasan was placed under a state of calamity due to the recurring problem of foul smell and defective sewage treatment facility of the two jails in the barangay.

Labella said that he has already called the attention of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO) and the Department of Health (DOH) to help hasten the progress of their action.

Since one of the long-term solution the city is looking at is the construction of a water treatment facility, Labella said that the city has already allotted a supplemental budget for the water treatment facility, but it is still on the bidding stage.

“If it’s a criticism, as long as it’s constructive criticism, I will not prevent them for saying it, since for them it’s something that should be attended by the executive,” said Labella.

The City council has formed a special body and appropriate funds of at least P20 million to provide solution to the problem.

Last December, the Cebu City Jail was again the subject of complaints by Barangay Kalunasan residents, after a video posted on social media by a resident showed the wastewater that was leaking from a prison pipe goes straight to a nearby road.

The residents have been complaining of the stench from the wastewater facility of the jail, which is managed by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

The Pollution Adjudication Board has ordered the jail to close all exit or discharge points for its septic waste as not to pollute the nearby Guadalupe River.

The overflowing of the wastewater was attributed to the closure of the discharge points.  GAN (FREEMAN)