Making Waste Big (Bgy. Bugo, Cagayan de Oro City)

Bugo is made popular for the location of an international acclaimed producer of quality pineapple products. The said company has established its processing plant and wharf in the barangay.

It is the boundary barangay of Cagayan de Oro on the east, which is approximately fifteen kilometers from the city proper. It has a land area of 968 square kilometers that is divided into eight zones, including the sitios of Suntingon, San Vicente and Kihapon.

Topographically, Bugo is bounded on the north by the town of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental; on the south by barangay Puerto; on the east by the province of Bukidnon; and, on the west by Macajalar Bay. As one of the largely populated barangays of the city, Bugo is categorized as a highly urbanized barangay. Its population totaled to 26, 473 (As of Dec. 2005).

The Integrated Solid Waste Management Project of Bugo has been pioneered by the Local Environmental Planning and Management (L-EPM) process. This method, in turn, is promoted by the Good Practice in Local Governance: Facility for Adaptation and Replication (GO-FAR).  The focus of program is to support LGUs effort in confronting local environmental issues.

The city government thru the endeavor of City Local Environment and Natural Resources (CLENRO) has invited organizations, institutions and individuals to become stakeholders.

With the participating stakeholders, a series of activities have been conducted for the orientation of the process as well as the identification of environmental issues that need to be addressed. Hence, working committees at the city and barangay level is organized for the implementation of the project.

Barangay Bugo is one of the identified barangays to implement the project. The recognition is based on the active participation of its representatives during the consultation meetings. Thus, Kalimpyo Angay Maangkon sa Bugo Uban Ang Nasod (KALAMBUAN) was created. Its purpose is to reduce and utilize barangay waste into useful and profitable resources, in relation with its thrust to have a clean and green environment through values formation.

Project History: A Retrospection

In 1999, the project on Integrated Solid Waste Management was introduced to the barangay as a result of the L-EPM process based on the Sustainable Cities Program (SCP). SCP seeks to promote and support sustainable development in cities and towns all over the world. Cagayan de Oro is one of the implementing cities in the Philippines. Moreover, SCP is also concerned with finding effective ad realistic solutions to environmental problems that threaten world’s cities vis-à-vis finding developmental paths that befit the opportunities and/or constraints of the city.

On the other hand, the L-EPM is a process that focuses on the identification and clarification of environmental issues; assembly and analysis of relevant information; and, identification and mobilization of stakeholders; a bottom-up method that prioritize ecological concerns according to doability and impact to the community.

L-EPM conducted series of city-wide meetings for its orientation and application. Furthermore, the said sectoral consultations had also organized L-EPM organizational team to give technical assistance and supervision on the course of the project implementation. The city government through CLENRO lobbied the action.

Essentially, KALAMBUAN or the ISWMP of Bugo started as a revision of the Zero Waste Management introduced by the past barangay administration as part of the local environmental program. In this connection, residuals and hazardous wastes were made the primary consideration in the improvement of the barangay waste disposal system.

Bugo Environmental Protection and Preservation Council was eventually established to address the barangay ecological concerns. Solid Waste was made a priority. In this regard, the ISWP was launched, and was founded on the guidelines of R. A. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

KALAMBUAN has earned Barangay Bugo an award from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' National Search for Model Barangay for its Eco-Waste Management in 2004. Currently, there is a plan to expand the project throughout Bugo with a 5-year implementation plan. Prioritization will depend on the immensity of the waste problem of the barangay, and an available area for an accessible community garden.