A ‘wow’ moment with zero-waste column

May I thank Ceres Doyo for her column “A garbage-free papal visit” (Opinion, 8/7/14). With that article, she made a truly “wow” moment for me and my Zero Waste Philippine team!

We share her ruminations; indeed we are exactly on the same page, airing the same appeals in our many training seminars, only to be met with apathy, “no-budget alibis,” resistance, etc.

What our late eco-warrior Odette Alcantara said, “Hakot, tambak. Lipat, kalat,” still reverberates in our minds.

We remain steadfast in our vision to increase the level of compliance with Republic Act No. 9003 (The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000), which remains at 20 percent, according to the National Solid Waste Management Commission.

On the initiative of environment lawyer Tony Oposa Jr., the nationwide ECA (environmental compliance audit), a self-assessment project involving 1,620 local government units, was launched on Earth Day last April 22. The ECA is a collaborative effort among several government agencies and nongovernment organizations. But of the 1,620 LGUs,  only 570 responded.

The next step for us is to validate the self-assessment ratings versus the findings of organized composite groups that went on actual site visits, together with representatives from the Office of the Environment Ombudsman.

We hope to bring this ECA project to its envisioned goal by January 2015, which has been declared by the Office of the President as Zero Waste Month, in time for our Holy Father’s visit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Manila.

Once again, we heartily commend Ceres for the column that drew the attention of her countless readers to the priceless value of discipline, which is the basic element in nation-building.

—ANNIE P. GUERRERO,

president,

Zero Waste Philippines,

www.zerowasteph.com