Chosen Locale: Barangay Alubihid, Buenavista Agusan del Norte

Barangay Chairman: Roel T. Arobo

Are the barangay officials of Barangay Alubihid aware of Republic Act

9003? To what extent is the knowledge of the barangay residents on RA 9003?
Does the barangay council implement RA 9003 to its populace? Do the residents
properly observe RA 9003 in their homes?

I conducted a simple survey to answer the mentioned questions. In the

absence of the barangay chairman for a very important matter, Barangay
Councilors Dennis Bokingo and the chairperson for the Barangay’s
Environmental Management Committee, Councilor Aurelio Paquera, answered
my queries regarding RA 9003. Two other councilors were also interviewed but
were not continued because they donated blood. (The time I interviewed them, a
bloodletting program was held in the barangay). Randomly, I also selected a
number of households of the barangay and asked a resident from each on the
level of their knowledge about RA 9003.

I did a pattern on asking both the barangay officials and the residents. I
first asked them if they are aware or familiar about RA 9003, and unfortunately,
all of them replied they were not. Then, I followed up with asking if they have idea
about Ecological Solid Waste Management. Solely, Councilor Bokingo was able
to answer me stating about garbage segregation. Unexpectedly, the chairman on
the environmental committee was not familiar about ESWM. To the others, I
eventually continued asking if they know and observe segregation of wastes in
their respective households, and all of them were able to answer me the right
way. One of the residents even shared that she does segregating of plastics from
other types of wastes because the plastic materials can be sold.
 The residents were then asked on how they dispose their garbage:
whether they immediately dispose them or do segregation first. Despite their
knowledge about segregation of garbage, an inconsistency I observed was when
I asked them if they have compost pits in their backyards. Only a few of them
said they have compost pits, yet, when I asked if they only throw bio-degradable
wastes to the pits, they answer negatively. Perhaps, they don’t know about the
essence of composting. All the other residents who don’t have compost pits and
have compost pits yet full already are disposing their garbage into any of the four
identified communal compost pits in the specific barangay site.

The barangay officials, on the other hand, were asked regarding their
implementation of RA 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of
2000 in Barangay Alubihid, Buenavista Agusan del Norte. Specifically, I
interviewed Councilor Paquera how the barangay implements Ecological Solid
Waste Management (ESWM) and what form of information drive they do in
educating the residents about RA 9003. He replied that during the last
administration, a seminar was conducted by the Sangguniang Bayan of
Buenavista regarding ESWM where former SB Member Maribel Balansag was
the lecturer. As to the present, they are still in the process of planning for more
programs to efficiently and effectively implement RA 9003. Another way of
informing the residents, according to him, is through Barangay Assembly.

In a dialogue with one resident, I was amazed with her knowledge about
garbage segregation. She shared a lot of ideas about the importance of the
proper disposal of wastes. She said they were encouraged by the barangay to
plant more trees and vegetations. She even showed me her cultivated Chinese
kangkong which can be harvested in just 15 days and be sold in a relatively high
price. She proudly said there is money in planting, similar to that one who
mentioned about segregating plastic from other forms of wastes.
 An interviewed resident also pointed an area where proper segregation of
wastes is really implemented that it has even won in a contest regarding
cleanliness and sanitation in the entire town of Buenavista. To my curiosity upon
hearing it, I checked the site, and truly, the communal garden was beautiful.
There was also compost pit there. Also, I saw sacks labeled implying that wastes
should be disposed their following segregation.

As a summary of the conducted survey, the following tables show the data
gathered regarding the answers of the interviewed persons.

Table 1
Barangay Officials’ Answers to Survey

Question Yes No Total

Are you aware about RA 9003? 0 4 4

Are you aware about Ecological Solid Waste Management? 1 3 4

Do you know about Garbage Segregation? 4 0 4

Table 2
Barangay Residents’ Answers to Survey

Question Yes No Total

Are you aware about RA 9003? 0 14 14

Are you aware about Ecological Solid Waste Management? 0 14 14

Do you know about Garbage Segregation? 14 0 14

Do you have compost pit? 3 11 14

Do you only throw biodegradable wastes in the compost pit? 0 14 14

 The photographs above show the barangay
officials and residents of Barangay Alubihid
interviewed regarding Republic Act 9003 or the
Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
 The picture above is an evidence of
Barangay Alubihid’s adherence to RA 9003.

Conclusion

Generally, the residents and even the officials of Barangay Alubihid, as

found out in the survey I conducted, are not aware and familiar of RA 9003 in
terms of name or title which is the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. But,
regarding segregation of wastes, as the core of RA 9003, I have found out that
the residents, as well as the barangay officials, have fairly ample knowledge on
the matter. Their responses and their shared ideas towards my questions are
sufficient bases of their awareness about the importance of the segregation of
wastes as one of the ways on saving Mother Earth.
 Submitted to:

ENGR. PROSPERO R. CACAYAN

Instructor

Submitted by:

JOE RANDY B. TABUNGAO

BSECE-4