Scavengers coop demands that City Hall respect MOA

CEBU, Philippines - A multi-purpose cooperative of scavengers at the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill is demanding for the implementation of a 14-year-old memorandum of agreement between the cooperative and the Cebu City government.

The MOA, which will expire next year, was entered into by then Mayor Alvin Garcia and the GKK-Lihok Pagtinabangay Multi-purpose Cooperative represented by Danila Constantino.

The scavengers, who lose their livelihood after Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama ordered the close of the landfill starting April 1, claimed that the MOA that is still binding until now has a provision that prohibits the city government to deprive them of their livelihood.

The members of the cooperative believe that shutting down the landfill has violated the provision of the MOA. Councilor Nida Cabrera questioned the demand saying, “Why only now?”

Cabrera admitted that the scavengers are giving them headache in the implementation of the waste segregation policy. This is aside from the barangays that remain resistant to the new policy.

“Daghan kaayo sila’g demands. Gusto nila ipa-implement ang kani nga MOA nga sa panahon pa ni Alvin. Pero nganung karon pa man?” Cabrera said.

The MOA was signed by the city government and the cooperative in 1997. The MOA says it has a term of agreement for the period of 15 years unless sooner terminated by either party.

Cabrera said the applicability of the MOA is questionable because it was never implemented. The then administration also did not consider the lifespan of the landfill which has supposedly ended in 2005.

The MOA says that the city government, being the first party, shall allow only members of the GKK to work in the material recovery section of the sanitary landfill and must allow the GKK to avail of the material recovery facilities such as building belt conveyors and sorting platforms for easy sorting and segregating of recyclable materials.

The city government also agreed to provide comfort rooms, wash and bath facilities and give preference in the recruitment of workers for the operation of Bio-Fertilizer Plant and other garbage related ventures which the city will undertake in the future.

The GKK, on the other hand, has the duty to provide the material recovery operation with sufficient personnel as pickers and sorters for recycled wastes and garbage.

GKK shall also provide its personnel with official uniforms, health protection facilities and identification cards and pay the salaries and wages of pickers and sorters from the income generated through the sales and profits gained from recyclable materials.

But for a very long time, the cooperative has not existed in Inayawan, Cabrera said. It was only revived now that the city has closed the landfill.

Other organizations like the Barangay Inayawan Scavengers’ Association or BISA are also making a living for quite a while now at the landfill. BISA has 600 members. GKK claims they have 300 members.

Cabrera said that she will refer the MOA to the council for review or to check if it is applicable since most of the provisions have long been violated.

She said that she senses personal interest from GKK members in reviving the MOA because some of its members have their own junkshops which compete with the junkshops of the members of the other scavengers’ association. (FREEMAN)