BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance mandating all the city’s 128 barangays to install vertical roof gardens on their barangay halls as provided for by the local environment code and appropriating P1.28 million or P10,000 per barangay for the said endeavour.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Lilia A. Fariñas stated that barangay councils shall cause the construction and retrofitting of their barangay halls with vertical or roof gardens or in the indefensibility thereof, shall locate other possible areas, for the planting of vegetables or ornamental and other flowering plants and may, on their own accord, utilize the fruits and produce for feeding programs, for profit or any other means they may see beneficial to their barangays and constituents.
The ordinance tasked the City Building and Architecture Office (CBAO) to assist in the implementation of the measure by way of a site inspection of the premises that the barangays intend to retrofit through the put up of vertical or roof gardens and provide the bill of materials, labor cost, the manpower and other specifications as may be necessary.
The ordinance stipulated that the amount of P1.28 million will be appropriated from the local government’s available funds which is equivalent to P10,000 per barangay for the realization of the project geared towards bringing back the greenery of the city.
According to the proposal, the P10,000 for each barangay shall be made available be released only to the concerned barangay councils upon submission of their letters of intent to the chairman of the Association of |Barangay Councils (ABC) along with the approved plans and specifications from the CBAO and a certification from the same office on the eventual completion of the projects.
Section 37, Article 8 of Ordinance No. 18, series of 2016, otherwise known as the city’s Environment Code, provides that the local government shall adopt a program for the promotion of community-based organic agriculture or gardening system which also includes among other things the sustainable production of organic fertilizers and that the city shall also encourage organic agricultural production in every household to help attain food security.
Further, the local government shall recognize urban organic gardens devoted to flowering and ornamental plants that enhances the environmental and tourism value of the city to include vertical or roof gardens, hydroponics, pot gardens and backyard gardens.
Section 38 of the same code provides that the local government shall champion green infrastructure projects, both vertical and horizontal, henceforth, all local government projects shall adopt a green building plan and design, and green infrastructure, incorporating the principles enunciated in the Environment Code and existing infrastructures shall be rehabilitated, renovated, retrofitted, or otherwise decommissioned to achieve the goal of environmental sustainability.
The ordinance noted that feeding program for day care centers is a regular practice of barangays and with the retrofitting of vertical or roof gardens on visible areas of barangays such as barangay halls among others, the same can compensate for vegetables, legumes, spices, greens and other nutritious food they may provide the children.
By Dexter A. See
