PUERTO GALERA, Oriental Mindoro—The Puerto Galera municipal disaster risk reduction management council has endorsed as urgent the immediate transfer of the town’s temporary dumpsite to safeguard the health of residents and tourists coming this summer.
Puerto Galera was declared under a state of calamity due to the destruction wrought by Super Typhoon “Nina” last Dec. 26. Among the eight municipalities of this province’s first district, this resort town was hit hardest.
The village council of Barangay Dulangan has served notice to Mayor Rockey D. Ilagan, through a resolution, it is opposed to the presence of the dumpsite in their locality, saying it will only pose health hazards to its residents and the environment.
The present temporary dumpsite in Sitio Lapantay, Dulangan, is a private property being rented by the municipal government. The owner has also refused to renew its contract with Puerto Galera.
Engineer Rodrigo D. Manongsong, MDRRMC action officer, said in the resolution signed by its 33 council members that the “immediate relocation of the dumpsite to a more suitable place will resolve the emerging health and environmental problem, which might turn into a calamity if not acted upon.”
Puerto Galera’s government is in the thick of preparations for the summer, which will see the influx of tourists coming from Metro Manila and the rest of the country.
“We want all the basic needs and services delivered properly to our visitors, who are the lifeblood of our economy,” Ilagan told members of the Sangguniang Barangay of San Isidro (White Beach), headed by Chairman Eleno Candava.
White Beach is the most popular destination in Puerto Galera among vacationers during the summer.
The Sangguniang Bayan presided by Vice Mayor Marlon L. Lopez, failed to act on the request of Ilagan to pass an urgent resolution authorizing the mayor to sign an agreement with the owner of a new relocation site in Barangay Villaflor.
Likewise pending with the municipal council is a proposal to earmark P60 million for the expansion, rehabilitation, repair and improvement and construction of the town’s Levels I and III water supply systems.
Various national government agencies and private companies operating here have provided the P60 million to Puerto Galera to help improve the town’s water delivery and supply system.
“However, if this huge amount remains unspent for the purpose, the financial grant will expire,” Ilagan said.
The Villaflor barangay council has offered Puerto Galera a four-hectare site in Sitio Pagturilan as a temporary landfill.
“Through this lot, Puerto Galera can maintain its cleanliness and orderliness,” said the resolution unanimously approved by the council headed by Barangay Chairman Teodoro R. Florida.
“There is a dire need to act immediately to do away with creating a more serious problem that will affect our tourism industry and the health of our constituents,” Mayor Ilagan said in his letter to the Sangguniang Bayan.
“Majority of the SB members belong to the opposition party, the stumbling block to any development plan to improve the delivery of basic needs and services for the sake of the tourism industry, the lifeblood of the local economy,” observes Jun-young, a South Korean expatriate.
Jun-young is planning to put up a hotel and restaurant business in Bgy. San Isidro (White Beach), this year. “Investors in the resort industry need plenty of fresh water and garbage properly collected for our guests,” he said.
South Koreans now compose the majority of tourist arrivals in this resort town with more than 100,000 of their nationals coming in any months of the year. “There are more than 80 Korean resort owners operating their respective businesses here, from dive centers to hotels and restaurants,” he said.