Labella orders City Health and City Administrator to solve Kalunasan ‘foul smell’

Cebu City Jail | CDN File Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines –Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella has ordered the Cebu City Health and City Administrator to solve the Kalunasan septic waste problems following the declaration of state of calamity by the city council over the foul smell emanating from the area.

In a press conference on Thursday morning, August 15, 2019, he said that he tasked the two offices to work together and find ways to reduce the health risks brought by the foul smell that residents have been complaining about periodically since 2015.

“I have directed the City Health and the City Administrator to collaborate with the officials of the City Jail to find ways to take away the smell in Kalunasan,” said Labella.

Read: Cebu City dads to look into complaint over foul smell from city, provincial jails discharges

The mayor said that the solution has to be done as soon as possible because the residents in the area have long been complaining about the issue. If it worsens, the health of the residents may be at risk.

In the regular session on the Tuesday, August 13, 2019, the City Council declared a state of calamity on Barangay Kalunasan because of the foul smell emanating from the septic wastes of the Cebu City Jail and the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).

The council allotted P480,000 for the collection of septic waste, treatment of waste water, covering up of open canals, and installing of tubes from the Female Dormitory septic tanks for easier collection of the hauling truck. The budget should temporarily solve the problem, at least for the remainder of the year.

Read: City eyes short-term solutions for foul discharges from Kalunasan jails

For a long-term solution, the council formed a task force composed of nine members to tackle the foul smell bothering the residents of Barangay Kalunasan.

Read: Cebu City Council forms task group to solve Kalunasan ‘foul smell’ problems

The task group is composed of the chairperson Councilor Nestor Archival, and members, Vice Mayor Michael Rama, Councilors Joel Garganera, Junjun Osmeña, Jerry Guardo, Alvin Dizon, Raymond Garcia, Eduardo Rama, Jr., and Niña Mabatid. 

Vice Mayor Rama said the task force will focus on creating legislative interventions to help find solutions to the Kalunasan problem.

Rama also met with Governor Gwendolyn Garcia regarding the issue because the CPDRC is also part of the problem. He said the city and the province should help each other in solving the problem.

He proposed that the two jails should be moved outside Cebu City and the structures in Kalunasan be converted to drug rehabilitation centers. /bmjo