The Quezon City council has approved on third and final reading an ordinance requiring residents to pay for the collection and proper disposal of their garbage, despite criticism that the local government is supposed to render these services for free.
The measure, authored by District 1 Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr. and enacted by the council Friday, imposes an annual garbage fee ranging from P100 to P500 on households depending on their lot area, and higher amounts on homeowners’ associations and owners of high-rise condominiums or apartments.
A homeowner who refuses to comply will be charged an amount 25-percent higher than the unsettled fee and a 2-percent monthly interest until payment is made.
The measure awaits the signature of Mayor Herbert Bautista and will take effect after publication in a newspaper of general circulation.
Alex Mendoza, a photographer residing in Barangay Kaunlaran, wondered: “Why should residents pay for a service that the government is obligated to provide?”
“If the city has a problem with solid waste management, why pass it on to residents? This is just plain robbery,” he said. Mendoza said informal settlers would be better off because, having no lots to call their own, they may not be covered by the ordinance despite being major generators of trash.
“Why not just strictly enforce antilittering laws? The councilors should not pick on legitimate taxpayers and law-abiding citizens,” he said.
The collected fees will be placed in a special account to be used “solely for garbage collections,” the ordinance said.
A part of the fund will be used to reward barangays or homeowners’ associations “that have undertaken projects, technologies or activities (promoting) the reuse, recycling and reduction of garbage in the preceding year.”
Ferrer earlier cited provisions of the Local Government Code that authorize the local council to fix reasonable fees and charges for services rendered by the city government, as well as provide an efficient and effective system of solid waste and garbage collection.
He said Quezon City, being the largest in Metro Manila in terms of population and land area, would need a “big budgetary allocation” for an efficient delivery of basic services. The garbage fees would “ help augment the funds to be spent for the city’s waste management system,” he said.