CENRO chief to quit ahead

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office head Ma. Nida Cabrera will be leaving her post in order to pave the way for the new administration to take over.

She told The FREEMAN that she is now preparing her retirement papers which will be submitted to the Human Resource Development Office (HRDO) next week.

“Ang new administration tagaan namo og way nga mo set-up sa iyahang structure. So by this time, on my part, I’m planning to retire nalang para sad matagaan og way ang mopuli diri sa CCENRO,” Cabrera said.

She is also planning to send a formal letter to Mayor Tomas Osmeña on her retirement.

In 2016, Cabrera was appointed as CCENRO chief.

Before Cabrera was employed in the city government, she became a city councilor.  She was affiliated with Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).

Among her accomplishments in her two-year stint as CCENRO head is the strict implementation of the environmental laws and overseeing the closure and rehabilitation plan of the Inayawan Landfill.

“Ang compliance sa city when it comes to environmental compliances, during my time as councilor ko akong gi-implement ang mga policy nga akong nahimo. So we fully implemented the policy on septage management niya ga start na sad ko sa atong e-waste management,” Cabrera said.

Other than that, she started establishing composting facilities in various barangays in the city in compliance with the Solid Waste Management Act.

Cabrera was also able to collect data for the Cebu City Environmental Management Plan of the city.

She is hopeful that whoever will replace her in the position would continue enforcing laws, programs and projects related to the environment especially the tenure plan and the closure and rehabilitation plan of the landfill.

“I hope before ko mobiya mapasar na siya kay importante man gyud na siya, it’s an environmental legal compliance so we have to follow,” Cabrera said.

In a separate interview, mayor elect Edgardo Labella has no idea yet as to who will head the CCENRO in his term from 2019 to 2020.

As Cabrera plans to leave the government, she is going to venture into a private company that has advocacies related to environment.

“Yes, I will continue working with the private practice, my international engagement nakigkita sad ta og mga partners so we have to establish an office here nga ako sa’y modala. So I’ll be leaving for Japan mga last week this month to finalize sa among mga documents,” she said. —  GAN (FREEMAN)