Local legislators to address flooding, solid wastes
during 3-day envt’l training program in Cebu
By Fayette C. Riñen
CEBU CITY, November 9 (PIA) -- Some local legislators in Cebu cited flooding, solid waste management and cutting of trees as common issues that affect the environment in their localities and expressed hopes that the three-day capability-building training program for local legislators on environmental issues and concerns that kicked off today will guide them in finding solutions to address such environmental woes.
Councilor Rogelio Montesclaros of Carcar City admitted that flooding is a perennial problem in their city located in southern Cebu as well as the management of solid wastes.
Montesclaros said that Carcar, one of the towns in the province that have been converted into a city, should start developing a strategy on urban planning that will serve the people 10 to 15 years from now.
“As we go into urban development, local legislators should have the foresight in laying down a program for infrastructure projects that would also look into future concerns that involve the environment such as flooding,” Montesclaros said.
A three-day capability building training program designed for local legislators on environmental issues and concerns from November 8-10 in Cebu City is being conducted by the Philippine Councilor’s league Local Academy to capacitate local politicians to identify and find solutions to their environmental problems.
Montesclaros said with flooding and solid waste managements as top environmental issues in his city, he expressed hopes that at the end of the training program, realistic solutions can be adopted to address their environmental problems.
“But for me, I am sure that with the rapid development of CarCar City, I would push to our mayor to come up with an urban planning development and as such hire an urban planner” so that development and environment can harmoniously grow side by side, according to Montesclaros.
PCL-Cebu Chapter Federation President Ivy Meca also identified solid waste management as a critical issue in Danao City in northern Cebu.
“There is also a problem of tree cutting in our barangays where only eight out of the 42 barangays are considered coastal and the rest mountainous,” Meca declared.
Meca said she expects to be able to craft related ordinances on solid waste management and the regulation on tree cutting as a result of the training program where technical expertise will be provided to the local legislators on the drafting of ordinances and resolutions.
But more than the crafting of related local ordinances, “local government units should have the teeth to implement the law. What is very important is the political will,” Meca said.
Councilor Roy Melgo of the Municipality of Borbon, Cebu also lamented that tree-cutting has been rampant in their area as people used the logs to make commercial charcoal.
“What used to be an 80-hectare reforestation project in Borbon funded by the USAID has been greatly reduced because of tree-cutting activities by some people to earn money. We have already reported this to the DENR while in our end, forest rangers have been hired to monitor any illegal tree-cutting activities. At present, such illegal activities have been regulated,” Melgo disclosed.
Jarvis Prochino, the lead of the training team said best practices on environmental resource management and site visitation of such best practices will be done by the 70 participants so they could witness firsthand on how things are being done by some local government units which could then be replicated in their respective localities. (PIA-Cebu)
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Local legislators convene in Cebu for capability training on environmental issues
By Fayette C. Riñen
CEBU CITY, November 8 (PIA) – Around 70 members of the Philippine Councilors’ League (PCL) from Visayas, Mindanao and Luzon are in Cebu for the three-day capability building training program on environmental issues and concerns that kicked off today.
Dr. Helario Caminero, executive director of the PCL Legislative Academy said the three-day event will guide local legislators on how to go through in addressing effective and responsible solutions to issues and concerns surrounding the environment.
Caminero said technical experts will serve as resource speakers on various areas of environmental concerns such as urban development, coastal-marine management and upland development.
“The three-day activity aims to capacitate the local legislators in identifying and finding solutions to specific environmental problems in their localities,” Caminero said.
The councilors will also be guided on how to draft local ordinances and resolutions to protect, preserve and sustain the environment, Caminero said.
The training is just the first of a series of trainings designed to provide local legislators on the know-how in adopting technical strategies and approach in finding solutions to problems surrounding the environment, this is said.
Caminero said the PCL Local Academy is focused on providing training modules designed to promote good governance practices among local government units.
“Environment is a crucial issue and is in fact, a global problem. This is why the PCL Local Academy is providing a special seminar that addresses issues and concerns on the environment and how local legislators could address such issues,” Caminero bared.
Jarvis Prochino, the lead of the training team on the other hand, said “Legislation is the heart of governance,” as he expressed hopes that after the end of the program, the councilors can start crafting ordinances or resolutions that address the environmental problems in their locality.
But PCL-Cebu Chapter Federation President Ivy Meca said “even with the crafting of local ordinances or resolutions, what local government units need is the political will to implement these laws because all efforts will just be wasted.” (PIA-Cebu)