Boracay, October 1, 2007. For the past 16 years, Glenn Sacapaño has been leading barangay (village) Balabag through some of the most exciting times in the island’s history since it became an international tourist destination end of the eighties in the last century. His quiet demeanor commands respect among his peers and from the community he has served for so long. Now on his last months in the political limelight of this island destination, Glenn shares with the BCCI News Team his views, quite frankly and fearlessly. Captain Glenn manages the first, largest and most efficient Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in the entire island known as the Balabag MRF.
Capitan Glenn proudly beams as he shows the BCCI Newsletter team the newly renovated barangay hall of Balabag located just beside the Boracay Action Center at the plaza (see picture). The construction cost, PHP 1.5Million, which also includes a day care center facility where Glenn has implemented a PHP 60,000 feeding program for the children of Balabag through the assistance of San Miguel Corporation. The new building now has offices for the tanods, treasurer and tax collection as well as a spacious session hall on the second floor. Barangay Captain Glenn Sacapaños next plan of action is to finish the construction for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) or the local youth council room that will house several computers where the youth of Balabag can hone their computer skills.
BCCI Team: Captain Glenn, you have seen the islands development grow and grow faster. What are your feelings?
Barangay Captain Glenn Sacapaño: Boracay still continues to have the same problems identified several times and several years ago: Mainly over-population, over-development, not enough regulations and implementations and the peace and order problem. Closest to my heart and the centerpiece of my program as barangay captain is addressing the growing solid waste problem of Boracay. The collection of garbage fees will now be turned over to the barangay level so we can efficiently service the solid waste management system of the island. The barangay will also be implementing a new garbage collection fee starting 2008. These fees will not only be charged to commercial establishments, but most important also to households.
Another fee? Will that not create a lot of complaints as municipal garbage fees have been significantly raised a couple of years ago?
We can anytime justify the new fees as we, the community, will see that the barangay is able to deliver on these services and that both business and residents will have a much cleaner barangay, that is if they support us with segregation. The new barangay garbage fees which will cost between PHP50 to PHP300 and will also be bracketed depending on the size of the household or establishment. It is important for the Mayor and his office to vest authority in the barangay level for the implementation of ordinances. This will prove to be an efficient method of governance.
Is your budget allocation from the LGU not enough to sustain barangay operations?
The LGU may have its own budget allocation per barangay, but the funds we receive are not enough and it is our responsibility to sustain itself and come up with its own budget for the projects and services we give to the community. We are often sorely frustrated by the bureaucracy of the LGU which ties up all proposals due to the numerous documentations and processes for a final approval and the release of funds needed for operations. We have made the MRF a success, even if funds from the LGU came in slowly in the beginning. Today I’m proud to say that our MRF is not only working well, but generates money and will be hopefully soon self sustainable.
You have made yourself a name as ‘garbage king’ due to your strict implementation of RA 9003. How are things going today? Are residents and establishments still following and segregating?
Yes, many, if not most are. Compared to the barangays Yapak and Manoc-Manoc, Balabag produces the largest volume of waste. It averages 10-11 garbage trucks everyday, each truck containing 3-4 cubic meters of solid waste. This amount increases during the “habagat” season when more special wastes such as construction and garden wastes are generated. We are slowly running out of space for these special wastes at our MRF. Our MRF is also understaffed with about 29 community workers handling the monitoring, collection, segregation and sorting of the waste we produce. Balabag happens to have the largest concentration of businesses in the island. We, therefore, require also more budget given our size and the amount of solid waste our community generates. At present the MRF is able to generate income from recycled materials. With this income we provide rice subsidy to the workers and augment income of the workers. Currently we generate about PHP 25,000 a month from sales, but this has dwindled down from the PHP40,000 we used to generate. The reason is mainly because establishments now no longer give their recyclables to the MRF, opting to sell them directly to buyers. If establishments can support us on that and give the MRF all their recyclables, w also would have more funds for projects and services. This would also be a very good opportunity for the businesses to give back something to the community where it belongs.
The solid waste situation has not really improved and deliberations on how to solve the increasing amount of solid waste are still ongoing. How do you want to address that problem, as the MRF soon runs out of place to store the solid waste?
The LGU should not spend so much for a sanitary landfill as there are other alternatives and more viable solutions to the problem of residuals which continue to pile up in the MRF. I suggest that instead of building a sanitary landfill in barangay Kabulihan, plastic shredding machines should be provided to the 3 MRFs in the island so non-recyclable plastics can be shredded and mixed to create paving blocks and hollow blocks that can be used for all kind of construction. The 3 MRFs currently operating in the island are actually enough to sustain the solid waste management of the island provided that residuals are also processed for recovery within the island itself. Borcacay is small and should be self-contained for its waste management and that could be easily managed. Our waste segregation campaign is going strong, even if you don’t always realize it or hear it. Our monitors are actively checking establishments and households to ensure that segregation is done at source. I’m proud that businesses and households in Balabag and also in the entire island have a very high compliancy rate in terms of following the rules in segregating garbage.
Did you have a satisfying experience with the private sector in your 16 years as barangay leader?
Yes, and I’m grateful that we always had the support of the business sector and the residents. Businesses have been generous in providing Balabag with financial assistance while the people support us through volunteer work in the barangay. I cannot have success without the help and cooperation of the business and private sector. What frustrates me most is the lack of long term planning and development plans not just for Balabag but for the entire island of Boracay. Our officials keep on meeting and talking but actions are taking too long in the implementation. Meanwhile, as our leaders keep on talking, the problems grow bigger and complicate the existing conditions in the island
What do you think about the future of Boracay?
Our future is threatened. If the government continues to move slowly and fails to act accordingly in addressing the surmounting problems of the island, the island and its tourism will deteriorate. Without any planning, development of Boracay will decline and eventually the tourism industry would suffer and this would translate to hardship not just for the businesses but for all of us. I feel that the leaders of Boracay just keep on meeting and talking, discussing all these problems, but take no action at all. The LGU is quick to give short term solutions to problems, but seems to be unable to provide long term solutions for these problems. These problems have been festering for over a decade already. I am also disappointed that the EPG and other organizations tasked to save the island from ruin, such as the PTA, are in fact not able to really lead and accomplish anything. More often than not, they are violators themselves.
We hear that there is already a new master plan. Can you comment on this?
Talaga? (Really?) There have been so many master plans and task forces, I forgot already how many! The future of tourism in the island rests in the implementation of a master plan that would serve as the basis for the guidelines and regulations of its sustainable development. Again: without proper planning, the island will suffer and this would also affect the growth of business and quality of life in the island. I’m still in favor for an authority that would oversee the planning and development of the island towards sustainability provided that transparency is part of its administration.
Captain Glenn, what do you think about the often proposed Moratorium for construction?
It should be implemented for four to six months but only on new applications for construction. New and bigger hotels or establishments coming in, should already have their plans for their own sewage treatment plants (STPs). We have already big problems with the sewage treatment system and the drainage network. We should also regulate the number of hotels in the island as this already impacts on the carrying capacity of the island.
Captain Glenn, what are your plans once you leave your office?
There are already plans for me to handle the solid waste management of the whole island. My main responsibility will be to ensure the implementation of a program that would make the system efficient and solve the garbage problem of the island. The Mayor and I still have to iron out some details, but I’m confident that I can achieve results. I hope my wife replaces me as barangay captain. That would give my programs continuity on barangay level.
