Mayor says MRFs can be source of steady income

If city mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. would have his way, he would prefer the establishment of 15 materials recovery facilities (MRFs) to process solid waste as a “more sustainable source of income than bingo.”

The clarification was made last week by executive secretary Ronald Perez who quoted the city mayor as saying that while he had no objection to the “noble intentions” of barangay leaders who were intent on holding bingo activities as source of funding, MRFs would go a long way in providing sustainable income to the barangays.

“The mayor is convinced that in view of the volume of solid waste produced daily, the MRFs would be of more value to the barangays than the proceeds from bingo,” Perez said. “The city mayor looks at MRFs as a more viable option or alternative.”

Perez said that to ensure barangay development, the city mayor has allotted a multi-million peso assistance to barangay projects from the annual investment program and at least P45 M for the establishment of 15 MRFs to serve the barangay clusters.

The mayor’s clarification came in the wake of a resolution of the Liga ng mga Barangays in the city that endorsed the revival and conduct of “Bingo sa Barangay” as a fundraising activity.

The MRFs, when realized, would receive sort, process, and store “com-postable” and recyclable materials efficiently and in an environmentally sound manner.

The resolution, signed by Liga president Joel Alangsab, stressed that the conduct of the fund raising activity is based on provisions of the Local Government Code.

The resolution added that the barangays have clearly manifested their intention to authorize the holding of a fundraising activity in order to generate funds for various projects.