A LONG-term plan is being eyed to improve the air quality in Baguio City by lessening the emission from vehicles or mobile sources.
The Environment Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Cordillera said the City should aim to lessen the emission by reducing the number of vehicles.
"If the City Government can procure a property at the outskirts of Baguio City, all vehicles coming here will just be in a common parking area. From there, they will use common public utility vehicle within Baguio City so that emission will not be added inside," said EMB-Cordillera Director Reynaldo Digamo.
Between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., real-time air quality index in Burnham Park is recorded fair, while between 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., good air quality is noted. The quality returns to fair again between 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
The Department of Public Works and Highways has recorded at least two million vehicles coming in and out of Baguio in a span of three months.
"In a matter of months, imagine the emission na iniwan nito sa atin dito po sa atmosphere," Digamo added.
Digamo said other cities are lucky to have areas for expansion unlike Baguio City.
"Dito sa Baguio City, we are just trying to recommend and hopefully, they look for mechanism how they could possibly establish a common parking area outskirts of Baguio City para hindi na po iyan papasok dito mismo sa ating central business district," said Digamo.
"Gusto nating mangyari na hindi na sana makapasok iyong mga umakyat dito na local and foreign tourist para naman in a way, that will also trigger economic activity, kasi kung iiwanan nila iyong mga sasakyan nila sa common parking area, gagamit sila sa ating public utility jeepney and taxi, siyempre maraming customer at pasahero iyong ating mga taxi at jeep," he added.
The context of carless day to lessen the number of the vehicles in the streets has serve as short-term solution to solve air pollution in the city.
In August, the University of the Philippines-Baguio implemented a vehicle-free campus with carless days every Wednesdays, while last November, DENR-Cordillera started carless day every first Thursdays of every month within the agency’s compound and all its offices within the city and La Trinidad.
The EMB is also asking other offices that would help in the reduction of the emission coming from vehicles. Local chief executives are encouraged to implement carless day within their locality.
