TRECE MARTIRES CITY — Caviteños are, indeed, revolutionaries – taking bold steps to revolutionize solid waste management and to provide solutions to the problem of climate change.

Governor Ayong Maliksi, together with the provincial government of Cavite and its Environment and Natural Resources Office, initiated the first ever Gawad Aguinaldo sa Kapaligiran to recognize the efforts of Cavite’s 19 municipalities and four cities in the effective implementation of RA 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

Leading the ecological revolution is the municipality of Carmona, led by Mayor Roy Loyola, which bagged three major awards — Best in Recyclable Waste Collection and Management-Category B, Best in Biodegradable Waste Collection and Management-Caterogy B, and overall Best in Ecological Waste Management.

For its banner program, “Balik Inang Kalikasan, Balik Amang Pabrika,” (BIK-BAP) the town took home the three major awards with a total cash prize of P1.1 million. The municipality was also cited as Model in Livelihood Generation for its Pataw, Parol, doormat and bag making, and for the Model Material Recovery Facility of Barangay Maduya.

The 2009 Gawad Aguinaldo sa Kapaligiran highlighted the best practices in the implementation of RA 9003 starting from the school level, to the barangays and then to the municipal level.
The competition categorized the municipalities into categories A and B.

Category A includes municipalities and cities with population of at least 90,000, while Category B includes municipalities and cities with populations of less than 90,000.

Carmona’s banner program on Solid Waste Management, BIK-BAP comprises Composting and Vermicomposting (BIK), Central MRF and Basura Palit Gamit, atbp. (BAP)