BAUKO, Mountain Province – The municipal government is now embarking on a multi-pronged approach to effectively and efficiently address solid waste disposal concerns that would arise in the future once there will be an increased population coupled with the expected influx of foreign and domestic tourists as an offshoot of the local government’s aggressive campaign for the promotion of unique tourist destinations in the different parts of the town.
Mayor Abraham B. Akilit said being able to empower the local residents to be able to appropriately dispose their garbage will contribute in maintaining cleanliness in the town’s 22 barangays, especially in prospective tourism destinations which will be frequently visited once road networks leading to the remote villages will be improved before the end of the year.
“We want our barangays to be able to put in place various solid waste disposal interventions in order to make sure that they will be able to address problems that will occur during the influx of foreign and domestic visitors wanting to visit the new ecotourism destinations that the municipality can offer to visitors,” Akilit stressed.
Aside from putting in place Eco Composting Receptacles (ECRs) in the different barangays, the local chief executive added the installation of Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in strategic urban areas is now being evaluated to allow the existence of appropriate solid waste disposal interventions that would prevent the occurrence of garbage disposal problems for the municipality during the influx of foreign and domestic tourists.
Mayor Akilit asserted concerned barangay officials have been tapped to continue the massive information and education campaign to the people in their areas of jurisdiction to strictly observe the segregation of their garbage at source in order to reduce the volume of waste being brought to the ECRs and MRFs and sustain the cleanliness in their barangays.
According to him, one of the policies the local government has adopted is for trekkers and tourists visiting the different tourist destinations in the municipality to properly dispose their waste which will be their contribution in maintaining cleanliness in the destinations they intend to visit for the benefit of the welfare of future visitors and local residents.
Bauko is one of the fastest growing ecotourism destinations in the Cordillera considering that it is the gateway to the mystical town of Sagada and Banaue, Ifugao.
One of the tourist destinations being offered by the municipal government to the visitors is the trek to Mount Polis in barangay Bagnen which allows everyone to have a 360-degree view of the lowlands and the towering mountains of the region.
Akilit cited tourists visiting the different tourist spots of the locality must cooperate with the strict rules and regulations being imposed by the barangays and the local government, especially in solid waste disposal, in order to maintain the beauty of the environment that the locality offers to the visitors and consider them part of the communities that they visit.
He claimed it is better for appropriate rules and regulations in terms of solid waste disposal to be put in place the earliest possible time in order to instaill discipline among residents in the different communities and serve as an example for visitors to emulate so as not to ruin the beauty of the environment that must be preserved for the benefit of the present and future generations purposely for the expected increase in tourist arrivals.
By Dexter A. See
