Tanauan, Leyte

Ernie Teston January 10th, 2008

I usually make it a yearly effort to go home to our beloved town, Tanauan to spend the long Christmas break with my family. I usually am excited, just like other Tanauaneños who have made a living somewhere else, as this is that much-awaited time when one gets to reunite with childhood friends, classmates and relatives and the time to revisit the old yet familiar places we hold dear during those young impressionable years. This is also the time of the year when one gets to enjoy, relax and savor the cool and fresh air Tanauan can offer as opposed to the unequaled pollution here in Manila. Little did I know I was in for a big surprise!

Going home is also the time to know the progress the town has made in the year or so I was gone. As you will know, my house is situated along the stretch of P. Burgos St., in Brgy. San Roque, one which I could say is turning into a commercial thoroughfare. This is one of the busiest streets especially on Market Day when all roads led to the Tanauan Public Market as this is one of those streets one would tread on the way out. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with P. Burgos St., it is that short strip of road just across or next to Tanauan Public market which also traverses to Imelda Avenue or the main town highway. Indeed, few changes can be seen everywhere, to include this commercial area.

A few years ago, P. Burgos St. was an ideally clean road every Tanauaneño is familiar with. All locals, to include the political leaders cannot claim they have not walked nor is familiar with this street as it has long served as the commuter’s road from the public market. Even San Roque’s Brgy. Chairman lives in P. Burgos St! What used to be a clean and passable street is now a little lake of water wastes perennially present 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and emitting a foul smell at that! Now, who can live with that!

Residents in this street do enjoy the best of all worlds the town can offer as it is near everything! It is indeed an ideal place to live. But now, it has turned into hell not only for those living along this street but for everyone passing through this road from the market. It is indeed a daily punishment for Tanauaneños especially for my family and neighbors who get to inhalel and endure this “little smelly lake” everyday. Why is this so? My house happens to be beside the source of this water wastes! As it is, P. Burgos also turns into a terminal on Sundays for tricycles bound for Tabon-Tabon and other outskirt barangays. My street has literally changed its reputation to this “mabaho” street as I hear from those commuters.

And who is the culprit? It is this small 24/7 bakery called Park & Go! strategically located at the corner of P. Burgos St. and Imelda Avenue which constantly release their water wastes directly onto the street. One gets to wake up at wee hours of the morning when the bakery is at its peak discharging their water wastes, that is also, when the foul and pungent smell totally invades the whole area.

As I discovered, complaints have been made by everyone in my street to no avail. Government agencies and our local health authorities attended to it at one or two instances “daw” but no concrete and long-term plan has been made. The thing is, I just cannot comprehend why the local government is still allowing this bakery to operate when it has become a source of pollution for the town for two years or more. I don’t know if some officials have made “business” out of this mess to the detriment of its populace. But then, one can only surmise this is the usual case. Need we say more? In its web portal, Tanauan, Leyte, proudly claims it has for its vision a dynamic and strong community which has attained sustainable economic growth through an effective and responsive local governance, with God-loving, morally upright, healthy and happy families living in a peaceful, orderly and ecologically-balanced environment. Why are they permitting this kind of pollution and menace to happen in the first place? This kind of contamination in a very public area has slowly eaten the souls and the last ounce of pride of my family and the rest of my neighbors. When I was asked where I live and I mentioned I reside in that area near Park & Go!, Lo, and behold, what did I hear? “Ah, an mabaho na kalye. Kaluluoy man niyo.” Now, this is not only our problem. After all, in the long run, it will also reflect the image of the town and the kind of leaders it has. In fact, it has done so! Well, can they not do something about this problem?

I can only say that the only thing that will stop this water wastes from being dumped into the open street is not to allow Park & Go! to operate. No other establishments should be allowed anywhere when it poses hazardous threat to the environment and health risks to the populace no matter how big comfort or financial blessings it may offer. The local government should not issue them any business permit due to health reasons and non-compliance to environmental safety standards or whatever term they may call it. Then and only then can P. Burgos St. breathe freely again and regain back the pride it once had.

Now, I long for the day when I go back to my town come December 2008 when I am not welcomed by the foul smell and water wastes in my precious kingdom called P. Burgos St. If this is still the case, I can only heave and blame those in power to be totally oblivious, blind and unresponsive to the interest and needs of the people. Ah, what’s in a vision and mission?

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