LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The municipal council stood firm on the earlier stand of the local government to totally stop the chicken dung trade in some parts of the municipality for the health and safety of the residents and the sustained preservation and protection of the environment.
Vice Mayor Roderick Awingan disclosed that the decision not to grant the request of the Shilan Chicken Dung Traders and Truckers Association to allow the storage of their chicken dung in warehouses in the area was unanimous as the councilors gave weight to the declaration of the Court of Appeals (CA) that the chicken dung is a nuisance.
Pending before the municipal council were several petitions from Shilan residents opposing the continuing chicken dung trade in their barangay; the request of the Shilan Chicken Dung Traders and Truckers Association for the municipal government to allow the storage of the chicken dung in their respective warehouses, and a communication from Shilan barangay supporting the request of the traders and truckers.
However, Awingan explained that the members of the local legislative body decided to uphold the health and safety of the affected residents and the ongoing efforts to preserve and protect the state of the environment in barangay Shilan over the interest of the chicken dung traders in ordering the stoppage of the chicken dung trade in the municipality.
The vice mayor pointed out that the matter had been extensively deliberated upon by members of the municipal council and the collective decision was to stop the chicken dung trade anchored in the spirit of the law that the chicken dung trade is a nuisance.
Aside from the foul odor emanating from the dung, concerned Shilan residents claimed that the presence of the dung caused the significant increase in the population of flies that are alleged carriers of diseases resulting in the spread of air-borne illnesses.
Earlier, the municipal government gave the chicken dung traders the time to relocate to areas outside the capital town following the repeated petitions from the Shilan residents for the municipal government to do something about their predicament for a long time.
Awingan stipulated that the chicken dung trade will actually not be eliminated because they will be allowed to relocate to other areas outside the municipality that is why what is important for the concerned traders is for them to look for areas in nearby towns that will allow their trading.
He emphasized that the problem with the present chicken dung trade in barangay Shilan is that the sale and storage of these are being done near residential areas and the foul odor from the dung actually affects their communities and the increased population of flies also contribute to the nuisance by entering their houses, especially those without screens and land on their food and other personal belongings.
In the past, the nearby town of Tublay allowed the conduct of the chicken dung trade within its jurisdiction provided that the traders will secure the required permits for the same.