TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—The devastation wrought by two storms in Metro Manila and Luzon has prompted local government units in Eastern Visayas to take solid waste management programs seriously.

Days after Tropical Storms “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” struck Luzon, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) regional office was swamped with inquiries from these local government units seeking assistance on how to implement solid waste management programs.

“Our mayors in the region became more conscious about our environment,” Maribel Munsayac of the EMB-Eastern Visayas said.

Experts have pointed to garbage blocking waterways in Metro Manila as a major reason for the flooding there.

Munsayac, regional coordinator of the EMB solid waste management program, said the calamities became sort of an eye opener among local leaders in the region.

“It ranks below their list of priorities. But after what happened in Manila, our local government units have now become conscious about our environment,” she said.

Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, requires all local government units in the country to establish solid waste management programs.

The law also required LGUs to set up their own materials recovery facilities (MRFs), among others.