By Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon
The City of Muntinlupa is in the era of rapid urbanization and revitalization, where commercial and residential areas continue to grow, and people strive to sustain the gains of progress. These gains however are seriously threatened by the adverse effects of global warming. We are now left with no other option but to face these challenges and help in efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change to prevent further damage.
Muntinlupa City is likely to experience an increase in its greenhouse gases emissions with economic growth under a business-as-usual scenario. To address this, the City has formulated and implemented the Muntinlupa Enhanced Climate Change Action Plan This plan, mainstreamed with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) and anchored to the 7K Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), draws the long-term sustainable goals of Muntinlupa City to address Climate Change through mitigation and adaptation actions.
The Environmental Management Cluster of Muntinlupa has established the Community-and-Entity-level Greenhouse Gas Inventory to measure and account for the significant emission sources in the City and City Government, respectively. Air pollution is also monitored through an air quality monitoring station in the New Bilibid Prison, Poblacion, Muntinlupa City. For mobile emission sources, the City’s Anti-Smoke Belching Unit regularly conducts roadside apprehensions to regulate vehicles with emissions below the standards as prescribed in the Philippine Clean Air Act. The City Government is also conducting regular inspections of stationary sources like boilers and generator sets from industrial factories and commercial establishments to ensure that they are also compliant with the said act.
Through the City’s Urban Greening Program, green and open spaces are developed, preserved, and maintained since these are fundamental to sustainably-developed urban areas. These areas are essential in reducing the urban heat island effect while trees produce oxygen and filter out air pollution. With the help of the City Ordinance 2020-188, the City Government is strictly regulating the cutting, trimming, pruning, and earth-balling of trees within the jurisdiction of Muntinlupa.
Parks located in Barangays Tunasan, Bayanan, and Alabang have been developed using environment and people-friendly design in enhancing the productivity of open spaces. The development of these parks intends to improve the health of residents, uplift the mood levels of travelers, improve air quality, and increase biodiversity by planting indigenous species of trees and pollution-absorbent plant species. The City Government has also launched the Demo Farm located in Barangay Tunasan to showcase various agricultural techniques for growing crops.
The City Government is actively implementing a comprehensive solid waste management program to reduce the volume of waste and increase recycling. This is being achieved through the implementation of Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in all barangays, community awareness campaigns on proper solid waste management, and the segregation of waste at source. The City Government also conducts regular Recyclables Fairs to properly collect, process, and dispose of non-traditional recyclables, such as electronic waste, which pose a significant hazard to both human health and the environment.
In addition, the City Government has established partnerships with organizations such as Plastic Flamingo (Plaf) to convert residual waste into chairs and other sustainable construction materials. A Plastic Chair Factory was recently inaugurated which converts residual waste like sachets into chairs. Biodegradable wastes are processed in bioreactors and converted into soil enhancers for use in urban gardening and urban greening of the City.
Furthermore, the City Government has launched an Eco Grocer initiative, where customers can bring their containers and purchase refills of liquid bath and hand soap,, shampoo, and other toiletries in an environmentally-friendly manner. The packaging used for these products is also environment-friendly and sustainable.
We have implemented a Lake Protection Management Program to protect the sustainable future of Laguna Lake, which plays crucial roles in food production, recreation, wastewater treatment, and flood and drought control. The program includes patrolling for illegal fishers using non-traditional methods, quarterly lake seeding to increase fisheries production, and regular clean-up drives with the help of Barangays, residents, volunteers, and partner organizations. Compliance with the Clean Water Act is also ensured by inspecting commercial and industrial establishments to ensure proper treatment of wastewater before discharge into bodies of water. Water quality testing is also conducted regularly since water quality plays an important role not just for aquatic life but also for the water needs of Muntinlupeños.
When it comes to Energy Efficiency and Conservation, Muntinlupa is one of the first few local government units (LGU) in the Philippines and the first in the National Capital Region (NCR) to complete their Local Energy Code and Local Energy Efficiency and Conservation Plan (LEECP), one of the mandated requirements for LGUs to prepare under the Republic Act 11285, or the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act. The completion of the LEECP comes at a very fitting time, considering that both developed and developing nations are in the midst of a global energy crisis.
Our Local Finance Committee recently signed a resolution reducing the fuel allocations to government services vehicles by 10% while also encouraging departments and offices to implement fuel-saving measures alongside electricity-saving measures. The City Government also deployed e-jeepneys and e-tricycles on major thoroughfares to reduce pollutants and noise pollution. These e-jeepneys have previously won the Best Customer Experience Award in UITP in Montreal, Canada. Additionally, solar panels have been installed in the Colegio de Muntinlupa.
The biggest challenge in environmental sustainability initiatives is that priorities can be at odds with the needs of a developing industrialized society. The City Government will continue working on its regulations, policies, and incentives to ensure that environmental sustainability is carried out as an objective.