Baguio market (Photo courtesy of PIO-Baguio FB)
Public event organizers using government spaces here will soon be required to submit waste management programs before they can secure permits.
Ordinance No. 63-2026, or the “Event Waste Management Ordinance of Baguio City,” authored by Councilor Yuri Weygan, seeks to strengthen environmental protection, public health and cleanliness by requiring proper waste segregation, collection and disposal during gatherings held in streets, plazas, parks and other public areas.
Organizers of parades, festivals, trade fairs, concerts, sports events, religious gatherings and other activities on public land must submit a waste management scheme containing the event layout, locations of segregated trash bins, designation of waste marshals, coordination plans with the City Environment and Parks Management Office and City General Services Office, and a post-event cleanup plan.
Violators will face penalties of PHP2,500 for the first offense and a three-month suspension from applying for event permits; PHP3,500 and a six-month suspension for the second offense; and PHP5,000 and a one-year suspension for the third offense.
The approved ordinance has been transmitted to Mayor Benjamin Magalong for signing and publication before its implementation.
Meanwhile, the city government is urging market traders and vendors to voluntarily clean the public market.
The call came after Magalong decided to discontinue the market’s rat-catching contest and instead encourage vendors to help maintain cleanliness and remove food sources that attract pests.
“The mayor has decided to stop the rat-catching contest at the market and make those who earn a living there do their part by voluntarily cleaning and getting rid of the sources of food of the rats,” Daryl Kim Longid, chief of the Public Order and Safety Division, said in an interview Tuesday.
Longid said the contest was intended to encourage market vendors to maintain a clean environment, with cash incentives serving only as motivation for cleanup efforts. (PNA)