CCENRO reports ‘cleaner’ Sinulog

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO) reported a “cleaner celebration” of the recently-concluded Sinulog that it attributed, among other factors, to “proactive involvement of vendors, volunteers, and barangay environmental officers.”

This was contained in its Sinulog debriefing report and the City Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement Team (CESET) executive summary that The Freeman managed to obtain.

“The Sinulog Festival of 2024 saw notable environmental management successes and identified areas for improvement,” read part of the report, which noted “a cleaner celebration with significant waste reduction”.

The report also noted that the areas that were done well included Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) activities, enforcement, eco-stations, and community involvement.

CCENRO’s Officer-in-charge Reymarr Hijara said the “proactive involvement of vendors, volunteers, and barangay environmental officers was pivotal in the operational achievements.”

The report also said that IEC efforts “led to a better-informed public on environmental policies.”

“Wide dissemination of information increased awareness and compliance,” stated the report.

The report also stated that “stronger enforcement efforts resulted in decreased garbage accumulation on the streets with vendors especially, took personal accountability for the cleanliness of their areas”.

It further said that the setting up of 20 eco-stations in different parts of the city, especially at the South Road Properties and the downtown area of the city, “facilitated efficient waste collection.”

And while the report said “several systems worked well,” it also listed areas that can be enhanced “for the festival’s environmental sustainability measures in future years.”

“Things to Improve included the waste collection facilities, the garbage collection accessibility, personnel deployment, solid waste management plans, signages and visibility, integration of volunteers, food distribution and waste, producer responsibility and even confetti management,” it said.

Hijara said that for next year, CCENRO is looking at increase the number and capacity of eco-stations along with enhanced signage and visibility for waste collection points.

CCENRO is also looking into “formulating a comprehensive solid waste management plan with stakeholder as well as early volunteer integration and IEC initiatives, while also consider adopting alternative, biodegradable materials for festival decorations to ease cleanup”.

“An action plan addressing the improvement points should be developed immediately, with tasks assigned to respective teams, to ensure timely implementation for the Sinulog Festival of 2025,” Hijara said.

“Continued partnership with key stakeholders, including businesses and civic groups has also been identified to be crucial in amplifying the said department’s efforts to maintain Cebu City’s environmental integrity during large-scale events like Sinulog,” he added. – /RHM (FREEMAN)