After being questioned about a potential conflict of interest, Francisco Paragas said he would resign as a member of the Solid Waste Management Board of Cebu City.
“I can better serve in a private capacity,” he texted the board’s chairman Jade Ponce.
Paragas heads the Paglaum Basureros, a people’s organization, which has been offering its services to business establishments and schools to collect garbage that has been piling since the Jan. 15 closure of the Inayawan landfill.
The group charges a P6,000 fee. Several Cebu city councilors questioned the group’s activity, saying it was alleging to be working with the mandate of City Hall.
Ponce showed the text message of Paragas and denied that the board authorized Paglaum Basureros or any private garbage hauler to collect trash from private establishments for a fee.
“Having said this, there is a compelling need for the City Council to come up with a legislative measure that would empower the city government to monitor and regulate the activities of existing private garbage haulers to ensure what is hauled does not end up in our coasts, rivers, streams and creeks,” he said.
“We’re excited that the council is looking at this issue,” Ponce said.
He said they will also ask the City Council to revisit and amend City Ordinance 1361 which states that the city will only collect P800 yearly for a school with 20,000 or more students.
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‘Basurero’ charging P6K to collect city garbage