No garbage run

In the midst of all the debate over whether to shut down or keep the Inayawan landfill open, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña somehow noticed how the dumpsite has affected the students of the University of Cebu-Maritime Education Training Center (UC-METC) in Barangay Mambaling.

The mayor offered P5,000 for each student who had to go to class wearing a surgical mask to breathe safer from the assault of fetid odor emanating from the landfill.

But is the amount enough for the students to deal with the landfill’s foul odor? Probably they can each buy an oxygen mask for that amount which they can use for the duration of the semester.

But the P5,000 — monthly, we assume — may not be enough to cover their medical bills should they be admitted to a hospital for lung ailments caused by having to breathe in day in and day out the strong, retching odor from the landfill which even surgical masks cannot give enough protection from.

The mayor’s proposal would cost the city P30 million a month, which is slightly higher than the P20 million spent for the tipping fees paid to the private landfill facility in Consolacion town.

That P20 million, however, doesn’t cover the maintenance and fuel costs of each garbage truck on a weekly basis which may run up to millions more. Still, can someone put a price tag on the health and safety of city residents?

Well, as far as the UC-METC students are concerned, Mayor Osmeña thinks the P5,000 is enough. As to the limestone and materials to be used to cover the garbage, the mayor’s team said they will source it from private suppliers.

But as the mayor suspected something anomalous when the administration of then former mayor Michael Rama entered into an arrangement with the private landfill owner to dump the city’s garbage in their facility without benefit of oversight from the City Council, so we also suspect whether someone here will also benefit from the dumping of limestone and other materials into the dumpsite.

It has been reiterated by the mayor’s people, particularly former councilor Nida Cabrera and former councilor and now Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) chief Roberto Cabarrubias, that the landfill’s operation is good only for two more years.

But Mayor Osmeña’s latest statement about building a higher wall around the landfill site and setting in place other measures in order to prolong the landfill’s life span for 10 more years casts serious doubts on his administration’s commitment to find more sustainable solutions to the city’s garbage problem.

Never mind the idea of resuming the garbage run of the Rama years since Osmeña’s not keen on funding it.

If the city’s garbage problem revolves more around the mayor’s policy of keeping costs down instead of a long-term solution — like finding another landfill site — then UC-METC students, nearby residents and businesses should brace for stinkier days ahead.