QC bags multiple awards in eco-waste management

Quezon City earned multiple awards yesterday as President Arroyo honored this year’s winners in the nationwide Search for Model Barangays for Eco-Waste Management in a ceremony held at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañang.

The city government, represented by Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., received special recognition for pioneering dumpsite conversion with power generation in Payatas.

The President, assisted by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Elisea Gozun and former First Lady Amelita Ramos, congratulated Belmonte and the city for bagging the most awards in this year’s search.

The mayor, joined by barangay captain Felicito Valmocina of Holy Spirit, also received the P250,000 three-star Bronze Award for the various waste management projects in the said barangay.

Five barangays were honored for the most efficient solid waste management program among the 42,000 barangays nationwide and out of more than 500 barangays that participated in the search.

This year’s P1-million five-star Gold Award winner was Barangay Linomot, Jones, Isabela for being a role model for having an innovative ecological waste management program, including maintaining a vegetable and flower garden in schools and households, using bamboo as aerator for compost piles and sack hanger to segregate usable materials from the collected garbage.

The 500,000 four-star Silver Award went to Barangay Panoypoy, Calbayog City; the P100,000 two-star awardee was Barangay Bued, Calasiao, Pangasinan; and the P50,000 one-star winner was Barangay Sta. Cruz, Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

Gozun said only 181 barangays had qualified for the final evaluation of the screening committee and this was further trimmed down to 35 barangays as finalists in this year’s search.

Two other Quezon City barangays — Bagumbuhay in project 4 and Philam — made it to the top 35, each receiving P10,000 and a certificate.

Belmonte credited his environment protection and waste management chief Frederika Rentoy for carrying out a successful clean and green program in the city.

Aside from providing the P1 million top purse from the Office of the President through the Office for Special Projects, Mrs. Arroyo also donated 10 presidential trophies for this year’s winners.

The President’s personal interest in the project stems from the fact that Republic Act 9003, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, was the first bill she signed into law after EDSA II.

The donors in the nationwide search were Sen. Manuel Villar, who gave P1 million, and Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who gave P500,000.