ATOK, Benguet – Motorists plying the Halsema highway were reminded not to unscrupulously dump their garbage along the road or in the ravines to maintain the cleanliness of the highway leading to the central Cordillera.
Mayor Franklin Smith said that personnel of the municipal government recently observed the significant increase in garbage being dumped on the sides of the road and even in ravines by unscrupulous motorists that contribute to the unsightly condition of the Halsema highway.
He claimed that the illegally dumped garbage are most vegetable trimmings that should be brought home by the farmers to be used as fertilizers in their farms but they had been dumped on roadsides and in ravines that present unsightly conditions in the said areas.
Earlier, the La Trinidad municipal government required farmers selling their produce to the various private and public trading centers in the capital town to bring home their vegetable trimmings as part of their obligation in helping maintain cleanliness in the trading areas and to reduce the volume of garbage generated in the said locality.
However, farmers allegedly dump the vegetable trimmings in areas along the Halsema highway that are not heavily populated so that the source of the waste will not be traced to them that result to the significant increase in garbage being generated in the municipalities traversed by the highway.
Smith warned unscrupulous motorists that their days are now numbered because the municipal government will be installing closed circuit television cameras along strategic portions of the Halsema highway to help identify the owners of vehicles caught dumping their garbage along the road and appropriate penalties will be imposed on them.
According to him, personnel of the Atok Municipal Police Station will also be making the necessary foot and mobile patrols along the portions of the Halsema highway that is within the town’s jurisdiction to closely monitor the activities of motorists to prevent them from unscrupulously dumping their garbage anywhere in the locality.
The municipal chief executive lamented the refusal of most farmers to bring home their garbage, especially vegetable trimmings, when they can use these as fertilizers in their farms to support the production of their produce in the next planting season.
He admitted that personnel of the municipal government are having difficulty clearing the dumped garbage in ravines because of the terrain and other factors that is why the reiteration of previous reminders for motorists not to dump their garbage along roadsides and in ravines along the Halsema highway to maintain cleanliness within the town’s jurisdiction.
Atok is one of the four towns in Benguet traversed by the Halsema highway which starts in the capital town of La Trinidad, Tublay, Atok, Bakun and Buguias before leading towards Mountain Province and ending up in Banaue, Ifugao.
Mayor Smithy expressed hope that the motorists will heed the appeal of the municipal government and that there will be a significant reduction in the volume of garbage being unscrupulously dumped along portions of the Halsema highway so that personnel of the municipal government and the local police force will not be preoccupied in monitoring their activities but instead perform other duties and responsibilities vital in the delivery of basic services to the residents and visitors. By Dexter A. See
