Last Feb. 10, municipal officials led by Mayor Roman Lazarte, barangay leaders, the parish priest and the townsfolk gathered to expand the ESWM campaign to four remaining barangays (Gugo, Palili, Tabing-Ilog and Imelda) not covered by the initial drive.
Barangay Ibaba, led by its chairman, Orlando Malibiran, initiated the first launching on Sept. 5 last year, four months before the signing of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (Republic Act 9003) on Jan. 25, 2001 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Since that first launching, 10 Samal barangays have successfully showcased ESWM. Lazarte, the first mayor to accept and implement ESWM in the whole province, with the support of Mabini Calara, head of the Association of Barangay Captains, has committed to set up ecology centers and buy-back systems for compost and recyclable materials in all the barangays, in addition to the municipality’s contribution to waste management implementation from its internal revenue allotment (IRA).
ESWM was first introduced in Samal by Oma Villano, a member of the Recycling Movement of the Philippines Foundation Inc. (RMPFI) and head of LAHAT Inc., which stands for lupa, araw, hangin andtubig – the basic elements needed to sustain life and bring back all biodegradable materials to their original state.
Samal municipal planning officer Rodelito Calara had invited Villano to conduct an ESWM orientation-lecture and demonstration, stressing the values of waste reduction through a simple, resource-conscious lifestyle, waste sorting and segregation at source, composting, recycling and re-use.
Villano was assisted by Ofelia Panganiban, RMPFI technology and livelihood specialist for transforming used materials, both biodegradable and non-biodegradable, into profitable, community enterprises.
The Magsasaka sa Sta. Lucia (Magsalu) offered to compost most of the barangay’s biodegradables into organic fertilizer.
During the first launching, municipal officials, teachers and students of the Samal High School, the parish priest and the Samal coalition against landfills and other concerned citizens paraded around the barangays, giving out sack hangers for waste segregation.