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CEBU CITY, Philippines — Lawyer Jigo Dacua, Cebu City Department of Public Services (DPS) head, wants to refer first the proposed garbage collection fee increase by the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) to the Cebu City Solid Waste Management Board.
Dacua said there was a need to reclassify again the establishments based on their nature, and impose garbage collection fees based on their income and not on their land areas, as used by the CTO.
“It differs man gud. For example, naa tay basketball court, dako kaayo siyag area, pero sa tinuoray lang ang 10 square meter nga restaurant mas daghan og basura kaysa basketball court. So, things like that should be considered,” he said.
(It really differs. For example, we have a basketball court, it has a big area, but in reality the 10-square meter restaurant has more garbage than the basketball court. So, things like that should be considered.)
“If I am going to be asked sa akoang simple nga method, ang akoa jud aning tan aw, dili gyod ta mag-based sa land area. We should base sa classification…and tan-awon pod ang iyang income because kung taas kag income that would only mean nga daghan jud kag gicater nga clients, daghan mo sud sa imong establishments,” he added.
(If I am going to be asked of my simple method, the way I look at it, we should not base it on the land area. We should base it on classification…and we will also loo at the income because if the establishment has a high income that would only mean that it is catering to a lot of clients, many people will enter the establishment.)
The CTO is pushing for a 200 percent to 400 percent increase in the garbage collection fees for businesses, set to be implemented next year.
The increase, the CTO said, would be needed because the rates in 2005 did not provide enough collection to cover the city’s garbage expenses which had now reached P400 million from only P47 million in 2005.
READ: Cebu City Treasurer’s Office pushes 200% to 400% hike in garbage collection fees for businesses
The Cebu City Council invited Dacua during the continuation of the public hearing of the proposed increase in garbage collection fees on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022.
The council has been in this public hearing for the past two weeks.
This is just a part of the public hearing for the ordinance enacting the revised Revenue Omnibus Tax Code of the City of Cebu, revising the real property taxes, business taxes, permit fees, and other services, among others.
Meanwhile, the council also asked Dacua as to the department’s efficiency in collecting garbage amid the proposal to increase garbage collection fee.
“If we will be having an increase of this much, how efficient is our garbage collection kay basin makaproblema unya ta nga taas tag gipasaka unya di ta makapahatag og efficient nga collection?” Councilor Wenceslao asked Dacua.
(If we will be having an increase of this much, how efficient is our garbage collection because we might encounter problems later when we have a high increase then we cannot give efficient collection?)
Dacua responded by saying they “keep on improving” with the city’s collection.
“It’s not perfect. We are far from perfect. Unya, wala poy nakaperpekto sa basura and for the longest time, problema g’yod ng basura and because of the complexities of the modern times kinahanglan ta moadapt, moreadjust kay di man magpareho ang circumstansya kada tuig,” he said.
(It’s not perfect. We are far from perfect. And, there is no one who has perfected the collection of garbage and for the longest time, garbage has been a problem, and because of the complexities of the modern times, we need to adapt and readjust because the circumstances every year are not the same.)
Dacua also acknowleged the city’s lack of serviceable garbage trucks.
He said the DPS currently had only 13 garbage trucks.
And while the DPS collects and operates in the main line, they also collects garbages in barangays with no serviceable garbage trucks at the moment. DPS and barangays, he said, shared the responsibility of collecting garbage.
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