FACES OF CEBU: Grace Luardo, 50, ‘garbage czar’ of Cebu City

Grace Luardo is also a pet lover. She has five dogs at home. | contributed photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Even though her dream of joining the military did not come true, fate has given Grace Luardo a different mission.

She has a different war to fight as the “garbage czar” of Cebu City.

The office she currently leads, the Cebu Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement Team (CESET) of Cebu City, is behind the colorful mini-gardens created out of the various garbage hotspots in the city today.

Luardo  is in charge of not only restoring and cleaning up the city’s environment but also bravely directing the enforcement of laws intended to discipline those who willfully disobey garbage ordinances.

“Sukad sa una pa sa panahon pa sa atong department head sa DPS (Department of Public Service) si anhing Engr. (Dionisio) Gualiza, mao man jud to’y nag-mold nato kung unsa ang pagpangga sa atong siyudad,” she told CDN Digital.

(Since the time when our department head in the DPS was the late Engr. Gualiza, he was the one who molded us on how to love our city.)

Luardo says it is the love for the city that motivates her to do her job well.

“Malipay gyud kaayo ko nga makakita ko nga hugaw unya inig ka human malimpyo. Dako kaayo na nakong kalipay,” she added.

(It really makes me happy when I see an area that used to be very dirty all cleaned up after. It really makes me very happy.)

Grace Luardo and the CESET personnel | Contributed photo

Luardo isn’t new to public service, having served the city hall since 1992 in various capacities.

At the age of 19, Luardo’s first involvement in the government was as office secretary of then DPS head Engr. Gualiza, who, she said, had served as his mentor in public service.

Years later, in 2013, she was tasked to head CESET and the city’s Barangay Environment Officers (BEO).

Since then, Luardo’s name is often associated to the “Gubat sa Basura” campaign, or war on garbage efforts of the city government.

Even with the change of leadership in city hall in the past years, Luardo remained in service, showing the same effort even in a different department. Luardo once led the garbage collection division of the DPS.

As she turns 50 today, October 23, 2022, Luardo continuous to cherish life and the responsibility she’s been entrusted.

Despite facing mountains of garbage every day, and riding on a garbage truck full of trash, retirement for Luardo is still 10 years away.

“Wa g’yod naabot sa akong kasing-kasing nga mo surrender. Gani ibutang nako nga challenge na. Ang atong kakugi, atong ihalad sa Ginoo,” she said.

(It never was in my heart to surrender. In fact, I see it as a challenge. My determination, I dedicate it to God.)

Grace Luardo and her children | Contributed photo

As determined she is at work, Luardo is also a dedicated mother to two children.

She managed to raise them well despite her busy schedule. In fact, the two children have already  graduated from college.

And now that both have graduated, Luardo said she has now more time to dedicate herself to her job.

Her message to Cebuanos:

“Unta isip Cebuanos, maghuna-huna ta sa kalimpyo ug kaanindot sa syudad nga atong pagalaktan…Sa tinuoray, ang usa ka enforcer, risk g’yod na siya kay usahay makadawat ta og criticism ug usahay kagahi g’yod sa ulo nga di mutuman. Pero dili lang g’yod ta mo-surrender,” she added.

(I hope that as Cebuanos, we’d think about the cleanliness and the beauty of our city. Honestly, an enforcer has a very risky job. Sometimes, we receive criticism and sometimes we meet very hard-headed people who don’t obey. But we should not surrender.)

/bmjo

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