COTABATO CITY — Members of the Sub-Committee on Regional Solid Waste Management (SCRSWM) Technical Working Group have successfully participated during the 3-day capacity building on Solid Waste Management (SWM) led by the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG), SCRSWM vice-chair, held on July 12-14, 2022 at the Acacia Hotel in Davao City.
The said activity aimed to enhance the participants’ knowledge on Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 and other relevant policies on Solid Waste Management (SWM), as well as the Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS).
In his message, Akmad A. Brahim, Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE) and SCRSWM Chairperson, gave emphasis with the issues on SWM in the BARMM, in which all stakeholders in the region must coordinate and combine their effort to come up with more solutions and interventions to address these issues.
“We must always be aware of the importance and beauty of a clean environment. We hope that whatever our ages, we could beat these kinds of challenges,” he stressed.
Moreover, MILG Operation Management Services Director Fausiah Romancap-Abdullah said that the activity was a good opportunity to develop a comprehensive regional solid waste management plan and to capacitate the local government units (LGUs) in crafting their SWM plans.
“We are very fortunate that our partners from the national agencies are here to assist us with this capacity development,” she said.
Members of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), specifically from the Environment and Management Bureau Central Office (EMB CO), Department of Science and Technology Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI), and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) took part by providing technical assistance in the said activity.
Among the topics discussed were the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 and other environmental laws, the National Solid Waste Management Framework (NSWMF), 10-year SWM plan preparation, formulation, processes, and approval, alternative technologies on SWM, and the guidelines for the conduct of Waste Analysis and Characterization (WACS).
Mario N. Bulacan, Regional Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) Region XI and William P. Cuñado, NSWMC Executive Director, secretariat, and head of National Ecology Center, have also joined the said activity.
RD Bulacan underscored that sincerity, discipline, and reinforcement are the keywords to help our country in addressing the issues of solid waste, saying “We will be tackling the technicalities of the RA 9003 and other environmental laws including different technologies and solutions. We will be more environmentally aware after this capacity development”.
Further, Exec. Director Cuñado stressed that the urgency in resolving issues on SWM arose during the pandemic.
“We are here to open your minds on how to make the Bangsamoro government the best one. You must realize that it is yours to take care of and that you should have the skills to develop it for an easier and more convenient life for the Bangsamoro,” he said.
Meanwhile, MILG Local Government and Development Division Chief Tarhata L. Balading presented a brief overview of the agenda 1 and 8 of the Enhanced 12-Point Priority Agenda of the BARMM focusing on the functionality of the LGUs and building resilient communities to human-induced and natural disasters. These two agendas support the mandate of the SCRSWM to prioritize rendering technical assistance to the LGUs regarding the review and approval of their SWM Plan.
SCRSWM is chaired by the MENRE and vice-chaired by the MILG. Among its member ministries are the MHSD, MPW, MAFAR, MOH, MTIT, MBHTE, MOTC, MIPA, MOST, BDI, OCM-TMS, and BPDA as the secretariat. (BPDA-BARMM)