CEBU CITY (Feb. 12, 2024) –The Task Force Gubat sa Baha (TFGsB) has urged officials of the six barangays situated along the Mahiga River to do their part in keeping the waterway clean.

Susan Araneta, TFGsB’s Mahiga River ground commander, said residents still throw their garbage in the river, especially in Kasambagan and Mabolo, despite her team’s continuous clean-up operations.

TF GsB Mahiga ground commander Susan Araneta.

“Suggestion sa mga kapitan, ilabi na sa mga bag-ong nahurar, manghinaot unta ko nga ang inyong isig ka barangay, naa man gyud mo’y mga tanod o’ sa satellite (office) ba, kanang hotspot sa mga hugaw nga lugaw, ipa-monitor ninyo sa inyong mga tawo,” she said.

The 9.1 kilometer river flows from Barangay Busay all the way to Apas, Banilad, Kasambagan, Mabolo and Carreta, Araneta shared during TFGsB’s teleradyo program over Sugboanon Channel.

Araneta said the TFGsB collected around two tons of garbage at the Mahiga River for two days in January, particularly beside Innodata in Mabolo and at the waterway’s mouth at the North Reclamation Area.

She lamented that while her personnel were removing waste at the river, some residents there were caught throwing their waste.

“Wala pa gane mi kalakaw. Wala pa ka biya ang truck, naa na po’y nidagayday nga basura sa sapa,” she added.

Boundary. The Mahiga Creek straddles the boundary of Cebu City and Mandaue City. Once it overflows both cities get affected. |📷 Photo grabbed from Google Earth

Some residents would even defecate at the river, threatening the safety and health of TFGsB’s cleaners, Araneta said.

She underscored the need for barangay officials to help the City keep their rivers clean and discipline their constituents. But she lamented that some barangay officials refuse to discipline those caught throwing garbage at the river.

“Naa’y mga kapitan nga moingon nga dili sila ka-control sa mga tawo,” she said, adding some barangay officials would not even cooperate with the TFGsB’s cleanup efforts.

Accumulated Garbage. Mahiga River ground commander Susan Araneta takes a selfie in front of a portion of the river near the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries office in Mabolo where garbage from upstream have racked up. | 📷 Susan Araneta’s FB page

One village official, she claimed, even told her to just deploy TFGsB workers to clean up the river without the barangay’s help.

“During sa last year nga administrasyon, giingnan pami sa kapitan ‘Daghan man na inyong tawo, apili ni’g silhig ning dan,” she recalled.

“Nagtuo man gud na sila nga ang city government gyud mao’y nag-obliga sa maong barangay,” she added.

Araneta hopes that barangay officials would take TFGsB’s campaign seriously.

Easement violators

Araneta said the TFGsB has also identified more than 1,000 households living within the three-meter easement of the Mahiga River. Most of the dwellers are renters, she added.

With the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor and the Department of Engineering and Public Works, the task force has already tagged these dwellings.

She said that not all of those who registered with the City will qualify for relocation as they are either residents of Cebu Province or outside Cebu. | PPRMN / jkv

Barangays urged: Promote proper garbage disposal
TF Gubat sa Baha warns bizmen: Demolish your structures or else