Town council wants experts to assess treatment facility

CEBU, Philippines - Persistent problems hounding the waste water treatment facility at the public market in Liloan has prompted the municipal council to seek the help of technical experts.   The move, however, is yet to be approved by Liloan Mayor Vincent Frasco.

Vice Mayor Thelma Jordan said it would be better if technical experts are the ones to determine the actual state of the facility so that proper assessment can be made on whether it can still be repaired, rehabilitated or demolished for good.

Councilor Leo Salundaguit said the failure of the town to address the problem would be a big embarassment to the Asian Development Bank that funded the construction of the project.

Market supervisor Ricky Hayag said the major problem that hounds the facility is the constant overflowing of the septic tank, which emits very foul odor.

The facility was opened in 2005 after former mayor Maria Sevilla sought the help of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to address the high coliform content found in Liloan’s waters in 2004.

It was found that the waste from the public market, located some 100 meters from the sea, was the primary reason for the sea’s high coliform content.

ADB then granted the town $50,000- P2.5 million at the previous $1-P50 exchange rate- to build the decentralized wastewater treatment facility. The facility reportedly removed the presence of coliform cells in the discharge area at an efficiency rate of 99.8 percent.

Through a memorandum of agreement, the Liloan Community Multipurpose Cooperative also ventured into operating a public toilet in the town’s public market to raise funds for maintenance of the facility. — Garry B. Lao/JMO (THE FREEMAN)