"WE ARE not tolerating the erring garbage collectors."
This was the statement of Jan Vincent Mercado, senior vice president of the city's garbage hauler IPM-Construction and Development Corporation (IPM-CDC), following reports that some of their garbage collectors were asking for money from household owners in various areas in Bacolod City.
Mercado said they are constantly monitoring the performance of their garbage collectors and reminding them not to ask anything from the household owners.
"We are a service company so if there are problems with our garbage collectors, it's better to report it to us so we can address it immediately," he said.
On Monday, a household owner from Barangay Estefania reported to Mayor Evelio Leonardia that some of the IPM-CDC's garbage collectors were asking for money.
"Please get the body number of the garbage truck and report it to us including the date and time. We should not tolerate them because this is one of our policies not to ask anything from the household owners," Mercado said.
He said they are now validating the report to identify the garbage collectors.
He added erring garbage collectors will be given the notice to explain as part of due process. Habitual violators may face suspension or termination.
The complainant can submit its complaints to IPM-CDC office in Barangay Tangub or text in contact number (0998)5890036.
Mercado said their collection trucks are equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) device to determine the identity of the garbage collectors as well as the drivers.
"Every day is a challenge for us and we are doing our best to collect all the garbage in various barangays," he said.
For his part, Leonardia said he did not expect that something like this will happen since it's already a private company (garbage collection).
"We will discuss it with the management of IPM-CDC to address this problem," he said.
The mayor also appealed to households and business establishment owners to inform the city as well as the IPM-CDC to penalize the erring garbage collectors. (MAP/VoxPop Bacolod)