Do you have a neighbor burning garbage?
Aside from the harmful effects of waste incineration or “pagsisiga”, a Facebook user said that it also affects the scent of his clothes fresh from laundry.
“Hirap hirap maglaba, tapos aga-agang magsiga, the online user wrote, with hashtag “#gigil.”
Burning of garbage is among the most common cause of feuds in neighborhood and communities, which sometimes cannot be resolved by dialogue.
In view of this, veteran lawyer Chel Diokno offered advice on how to deal with it if the barangay did not act on a complaint about waste burning.
In a Facebook post, Diokno said that a person may report backyard burning to the local environmental officer.
The public also has an option to raise their concern to a local health officer.
Aside from these government workers, Diokno said concerned citizens may also report their complaint on waste burning to a sanitation officer.
According to the lawyer, it would be better to raise the complaint as a group so that the concerns of affected individuals will be addressed.
The Solid Waste Management law prohibits the open burning of waste.
Violators of this law may be fined P300 to P1,000 and/or may be imprisoned for not more than 15 days.
Open burning of solid waste may cause respiratory diseases, headaches, and breast and lung cancer, according to the study published by the University of the Philippines.