integrating rizal provincial landfill’s informal waste

Integrating Rizal Provincial Landfill’s Informal Waste Sector in

Municipal Solid Waste Management: A Critical Evaluation

A Seminar Paper Presented to Prof. Doroteo C. Abaya, Jr.

Department of Social Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences

University of the Philippines Manila

In Partial Fulfillment of the Course Requirements

for Political Science 198

Amaryll Juris M. Banzuela

2011-13372

May 2016

INTEGRATING THE INFORMAL WASTE SECTOR IN SWM

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Approval Sheet

In partial fulfillment of the course requirements for the degree Bachelor of Arts Major in

Political Science, this undergraduate thesis, entitled, “Integrating Rizal Provincial Landfill’s

Informal Waste Sector in Municipal Solid Waste Management: A Critical Evaluation”

prepared and submitted by Amaryll Juris M. Banzuela, is hereby recommended for approval.

______________________________

Prof. Doroteo C. Abaya Jr.

Thesis Adviser

Department of Social Sciences

______________________________

Date Signed

This thesis is hereby accepted and approved as a partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree Bachelor of Arts Major in Political Science.

____________________________

Prof. Jerome Ong

Chairperson


___________________________

Date Signed


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Dedication

For the Informal Waste Sector, who is the driving force of waste recovery in the

Philippines. Your contributions are vital in nation-building and development,

For Papa, for being my inspiration and strength,

And for Mama, the woman who has been tirelessly raising us with her hard work and

efforts as a stakeholder in Solid Waste Management. We are nothing without you.

Thank you.


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Acknowledgment

First and foremost, I would like to thank our thesis adviser, Sir Doti Abaya, for guiding us

throughout this journey of writing a relevant seminar paper and for continuously reminding us of

our purpose as social scientists. His instruction is invaluable to the completion of this study.

I would also like to thank Ma’am Claire Berja for her initial supervision as my PS 199 and PS

199.1 professor. She gave this paper a push in the right direction.

Thank you to Sir Vergel of the International Solid Waste Integrated Management Specialist, Inc.

and Sir Edwin of the Recycle Eco Federation for accommodating me each time I visit the

landfill.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to my favorite person Rex for his constant support and

encouragement, and my bestfriend Flos for being my confidante a.k.a. thesis buddy all

throughout the semester.

Much thanks are also given to Dychie and Tina for being such true friends, sticking with me thru

the good times and the bad.

Lastly, I want to thank all the scavengers who are working inside and outside the Rizal

Provincial Sanitary Landfill for granting me the opportunity to inquire about their lives and for

inspiring me to make a contribution for the progress of their sector.


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Abstract

Ecological Solid Waste Management is a term used to describe the way of handling waste to

reduce its amount to the barest minimum and recovering discarded materials for reuse, recycling,

or composting. The legitimate stakeholders in SWM include the household, institutional and

commercial establishments, and local governments at the municipal/city/barangay levels. One

stakeholder often overlooked but equally important is the Informal Waste Sector (IWS) which

largely contributes to the success and efficiency of SWM. This sector includes scavengers, waste

pickers, itinerant waste buyers, jumpers, garbage crew or paleros, and middlemen or traders.

They are considered the most vulnerable group in Municipal SWM. Due to low incomes, health

and safety risks, social exclusion and stigmatization, there have been efforts to formalize their

work by integrating them into the SWM system. This study is an attempt to evaluate the degree

or level of integration present in the Municipality of Rodriguez, Rizal, in terms of Capacity

Development, Human Security and Social Inclusion. It aims to find out the real working and

living conditions of its IWS within the adopted National Framework Plan for the Informal Waste

Sector. This is an explanatory and evaluative research, following a development approach and

employing qualitative methods.

Keywords: integration, solid waste management, informal waste sector, waste recovery,

qualitative evaluation research


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Table of Contents

Page

Chapter I: Introduction

Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………....1

Purpose, Significance and Scope of the Study…………………………………………....2

Research Questions and Objectives……………………………………………………….3

Summary…………………………………………………………………………………..4

Chapter II: Literature Review

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..5

The Informal Waste Sector …………………………………………………………….…9

Importance of Informal Waste Sector in Solid Waste Management………………….....14

Legal Framework……………………………………………………………………..….18

Integration of the Informal Waste Sector………………………………………………...22

Statement of Hypothesis…………………………………………………………………29

Summary………………………………………………………………………………….

Chapter III: Framework

Conceptual Framework…………………………………………………………………..32

Chapter IV: Research Methodology

Research Design………………………………………………………………………….38

Setting……………………………………………………………………………………39

Population………………………………………………………………………………..44

Sampling Procedures…………………………………………………………………….44

Ethical Considerations…………………………………………………………………...44

Research Instruments……………………………………………………………………46

Chapter V: Presentation of Findings

History of Rizal Provincial Sanitary Landfill……………………………………………48

Respondents’ Data………………………………………………………………………..


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Chapter VI: Analysis of Findings

Evaluation of Integration…………………………………………………………………...

Integration in the Context of Integration…………………………………………………...

Limitations of the Study……………………………………………………………………

Chapter VII: Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………

Chapter VIII: Recommendation……………………………………………................................

References……………………………………………………………………………………….

Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………….

Appendix A. Request Letter……………………………………………………………..

Appendix B. Informed Consent Form………………………………………………….....

Appendix C. Guide Questions...........................................................................................

Appendix D. Transcription of Interviews…………………………………………..........


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List of Tables

Page

Table 1. Collection of recyclable materials by primary collectors………………………………..

Table 2. Collection of recyclable materials by middlemen and traders…………………………...

Table 3. Hierarchy of Informal Waste Sector Recycling…………………………………………..

Table 4. Proposed Interventions, Proposed Strategies, and Critical Actors and Partners……….

Table 5. Possible Types of Human Security Threats………………………………………………

List of Figures

Page

Figure 1. Solid Waste Management Hierarchy…………………………………………………….

Figure 2. Inter-relationships of Functional Elements in a SWM System…………………………..

Figure 3. Roles of the Informal Waste Sector in the Conceptual Framework of RA 9003………...

Figure 4. Metro Manila’s Waste Composition……………………………………………………..

Figure 5. ISWM Framework developed by WASTE………………………………………………

Figure 6.Capacity Development Process…………………………………………………………...

Figure 7. Illustrative Example of Multiple, Intersecting Identities………………………………..

Figure 8. A Framework on Propelling Social Inclusion……………………………………………

Figure 9. Rodriguez, Rizal Map……………………………………………………………………

List of Photos

Photo 1. RPSL Gate, as generated by Google Earth……………………………………………

Photo 2. Actual RPSL Entrance…………………………………………………………………

Photo 3. RPSL in aerial view, as generated by Google Earth…………………………………..

Photo 4. Actual view from the RPSL……………………………………………………………..

Photo 5. RPSL entrance signage………………………………………………………………….


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Introduction

Waste is the most visible environmental problem. It is attached to any basic need; it is

inevitable in every household, institution, commercial establishment and public structure. It’s

basically everywhere. With rapid urbanization as urged by modernization and globalization,

people are living on more resources than what they necessarily need. Purchase actions of the

people are continuously growing but the form of waste avoidance, recovery and diversion still

remains backwards, leaving communities and cities unsustainable for environmental

development and growth. Most people believe that as long as waste is not overflowing in their

backyard, it’s not their business anymore. It summarizes how a problem out of sight is a problem

out of mind. Little do they know how different groups of people in society live on this waste for

meager incomes and how this action benefits us all greatly in our everyday lives.

Statement of the Problem

Of the estimated 9,060 tons generated per day, approximately 3624 tons are recovered and

converted. Thousands of scavengers and waste pickers live and survive on this waste, eking out a

harsh existence on mountains of smoldering waste. Some are children as young as 5 years old

(ADB, 2004). Included also are their families, the hundreds of junk shops and their workers, the

thousands of eco-aides, the thousands of garbage trucks and their crews, and the tens of

thousands of slum dwellers living on, around, and near dumpsites. For Metro Manila alone, data

in 2004 showed that an estimated 150,000 residents know the sight and smell of garbage as an

integral part of their daily lives.

The Informal Waste Sector is considered the most vulnerable group in municipal solid waste

management. They face numerous occupational health risks and live on unsustainable living

conditions, leading to social insecurity and exclusion.


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Purpose of the Study

Being a vulnerable sector, the Informal Waste Sector needs the support to afford them the

standard of living, safety and security they deserve. This study is an attempt to evaluate the

degree or level of integration present in the Municipal SWM of Rodriguez, Rizal. It aims to find

out the real working and living conditions of its IWS within the adopted National Framework

Plan for the Informal Waste Sector. It aims to explore the status of this sector in terms of

Capacity Development, Human Security and Social Inclusion. It also seeks to further investigate

gaps and issues that hinder integration and seek out recommendations, suggestions, and

necessary steps to be taken in order to successfully implement integration.

Significance of the Study

Existing studies on Philippine informal waste sector are done by international institutions and

foreign researchers. Most literature are heavily conducted and focused on other low- to middle-

income nations like Brazil, Egypt, and India. This study is an addition to the local studies on the

Philippine informal waste sector. Efforts to integrate this sector just started to unravel 5 years

ago with particular policy proposals from national agencies. This study could serve as a

situationer and an evaluation of the progress of integration within this short period.

Scope of the Study

Geographically, the scope of this study is only limited within the municipal area of Rodriguez, in

the province of Rizal. Particular fields where data will be sourced are the Rizal Provincial

Sanitary Landfill and the residential areas within the disposal facility.

Moreover, the theoretical scope of this study is only conducted within the concepts and systems


3

of Rodriguez Municipal SWM. Implementation, practices and trends are inquired at this level of

the waste system.

Research Questions

1. How is the informal waste sector integrated into the SWM System?

a. Policy level

b. Institutional level

c. Operational level

2. What is the degree or level of integration?

3. How does the IWS benefit from integration?

a. Socio-economic

b. Political

4. How do the local government, other stakeholders and the environment benefit from

integration?

5. How does integration encourage capacity development, human security and social

inclusion? Are these being experienced by the IWS?

6. What are the gaps in integration and what else can be done to uplift the IWS?

Research Objectives

1. To describe the status and condition of the Informal Waste Sector in the ff. factors:

i. Standard of living

ii. Employment

iii. Political organization

iv. Safety, Security, and Social Inclusion


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2. To inquire about the status of integration present in Rodriguez, Rizal’s Solid Waste

Management System;

3. To determine how the National Framework Plan for the Informal Waste Sector is being

carried out;

4. To further investigate issues that hinder integration and steps to be taken in order to

successfully integrate the Informal Waste Sector.


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Literature Review

The National Capital Region – also known as Metropolitan Manila, the Metro or simply

Manila – houses 11,855,975 Filipinos. It is the second most populous region in the country

despite it being the smallest in terms of land area. NCR is also the center of government,

commerce and trade. It is composed of Manila, the capital city of the country, Quezon City, the

country's most populous city, the highly urbanized cities of Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati,

Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan,

Taguig and Valenzuela, and the Municipality of Pateros. Due to its composition and

characteristics, it has been considered as one of the top megacities in the world, placing 30th in

the ranking made by the global property consulting firm Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL). As this may

sound as a compelling recognition, it can also mean a myriad of urban issues and problems

crucial to its sustainability. One major issue faced by urbanizing cities is the accumulation of

wastes, along with the increase in population and developments such as infrastructures.

According to the United Nations Commission on Human Settlements (UNCHS), population

growth, urbanization and industrialization compound the problem of solid waste management.

This problem is more intense in the urban areas where there is a large concentration of people

and rapid urbanization and industrialization are taking place (Rebullida, 2000). As more people

move in an urban space and as more activities take place there, waste generation increases. Solid

waste problem is most severe in Metro Manila than in any parts of the Philippines (Junio, 2008).

In fact, NCR is projected to generate 9060.09 tons of waste per day. See table below for waste

generation data.


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Projected Waste Generation (tons per day)

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

NCR 8601.60 8754.43 8907.26 9060.09 9212.92

Waste projection on waste generation indicated the increasing volume of waste

generation due to rapid increase of population, industrialization and development

of our economy.

Precedent to these growing numbers is a series of waste disposal crises dating back to the late

1990s to the early 2000s. It was said to be a sudden phenomenon, marked by the forced

suspension of operations of the San Mateo (Rizal) sanitary landfill in late 1999 due to immense

public opposition. Within weeks, it brought about a near-catastrophic collapse of the municipal

waste system and severe public health risks. Metro Manila was out of options for disposal, and

waste went largely uncollected. Dumping at the existing sites like Payatas and Navotas sanitary

landfill was accelerated, and small-scale, private dump sites were developed. This unsustainable

waste management setup may have been one of the reasons that have caused the unfortunate

Payatas tragedy. July 2000 will always be a date etched in the history not only of Payatas but of

Solid Waste Management in the Philippines. After a weekend of heavy rain, a mountain of

garbage collapsed, burying hundreds of homes at the dumpsite known for servicing the most

populous city in NCR – Quezon City. Later, due to a dangerous mix of methane gas and downed

electrical utility poles, fires spread across the area. The bodies of 205 people were recovered and

reportedly, hundreds more remain missing. It was dubbed as the major illustration of the severity

of Metro Manila’s garbage crisis.

Imperatively, a year after this, the government enacted Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological

Solid Waste Management Act as a resolution to this growing garbage crisis. Many people


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believe that the incident have provided the pressure to legislators to create a legal framework that

would set the course of a Solid Waste Management system in the Philippines, most especially in

the National Capital Region. RA 9003 was approved on January 26, 2001 by then-President

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, declaring the policy of the government to “adopt a systematic,

comprehensive, and ecological solid waste management program” in the country.

This Act empowers local government units to actively pursue their respective solid waste

management systems by providing them the needed policy and technical support. The salient

features of RA 9003 and its IRR that apply to LGUs include: (a) preparation and submission of a

10-year SWM Plan; (b) creation of a SWM board in every city and municipality; (c) mandatory

segregation of wastes; (d) implementation of recycling programs, with support from the

Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), Agriculture (DA), and the Interior and Local

Government (DILG); (e) setting up of a materials recovery facility (MRF) in every barangay or

cluster of barangays; (f) prohibition of open dumpsites as final disposal facility; (g) promoting

the establishment of multipurpose environmental cooperatives and associations; (h) provision of

monetary and other rewards and incentives to entities that have undertaken outstanding and

innovative SWM programs; (i) encouragement of LGUs to impose fees sufficient to pay the cost

of preparing and implementing their SWM plans; and (j) creation of a local SWM fund from

donations, collection of fines and fees, and allocation from the development fund (De Guzman &

Reyes, 2003). The Act has also established the National Solid Waste Management Commission

(NSWMC), under the Office of the President, which shall oversee the implementation of SWM

plans and prescribe policies to achieve the objectives of RA 9003.

As outlined in the National Solid Waste Management Framework prepared by the NSWMC, the

ecological solid waste management (ESWM) policy is based on the management of waste in the


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following hierarchy:

Figure 1: Solid Waste Management Hierarchy

Source: National Framework on Informal Waste Sector, NSWMC

This model is said to represent an integrated approach that is more efficient in terms of money,

time, and disposal space. The first preferred options are waste avoidance, reduction, reusing,

recycling, and recovery, respectively. Stakeholders who have direct responsibility in this waste

management are households, institutional and commercial establishments, and local governments

at the barangay level. The last preferred options on the other hand are waste treatment and

residuals management, while the local governments at the provincial/metrowide and

municipal/city levels hold direct responsibility.

It could be seen in this model that the legitimate stakeholders only include the household,

institutional and commercial establishments, and local governments at the

municipal/city/barangay levels. It can be noted that the informal waste sector was not included as

key actor or as stakeholder. As recycling and recovery are listed as the first preferred


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management options in terms of handling wastes already collected, it only recognizes the private

sector as the local government’s partner.

This chapter would identify the Informal Waste Sector – their characteristics and the working

conditions they live in. It will further discuss how this sector largely contributes to the success

and efficiency of Solid Waste Management and how vital is the role they play in the SWM

System. With this, it will elaborate other studies’ assertion of the need to integrate and formalize

the IWS into the system and the projected benefits of this to the environment, the sector

involved, and other stakeholders, most especially the local government. The first framework plan

adopted for the IWS will also be discussed. Furthermore, working and living conditions,

grassroots issues and problems, status of integration – if there is any – will be provided in the

Presentation and Analysis of Findings.

The Informal Waste Sector

Informal stakeholders are active in solid waste collection and recovery all over the world, and

have been doing so in centuries already. In the Philippines, it can be observed that most of the

urban poor, or those who live in public areas and dwell in informal settlements see wastepicking,

scavenging, or more commonly known as “pangangalakal” or “pamamasura” in Filipino, as their

major source of income, as it can be the most accessible to them. People within these areas see

the accumulated waste as an opportunity to earn money. They take on jobs that are not normally

employable, despite its considerable health and safety risks. Everyone in the family gets

involved, even the women and children, just to earn a small sum of money. As they live on the

edge of subsistence, labor efforts are aimed for survival. Informal waste activities constitute a

hand-to-mouth existence, as it only provides for their immediate needs. Figure 2 illustrates how


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Waste Generation

Households

Commercial and

industrial establishments

Institutions

Waste Avoidance Reduce Reuse

Recycle

Waste Storage

Segregation

Transfer and Transport

Transfer stations

Disposal

Open and controlled dumpsites

Sanitary landfill

Ecological Park

Clustering of disposal facilities

Waste Processing, Recovery and Diversion

Materials recovery facilities (MRFs) and junkshops

Composting Recycling

Waste Collection Door-to-door

Stationary (bins, etc) Truck system

Transfer and

Transport

Transfer stations

uck system

this sector tries to intervene in the waste flow in order to source recyclable materials they could

sell.

Figure 2: Inter-relationships of Functional Elements in a SWM System, in accordance

with the Waste Flow (highlighted areas represent intervention of the informal sector)


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While this is a good indicator of employment, it can also mean a deficiency in solid waste

management by major stakeholders – most especially the local government – as they still tend to

overlook these gaps in handling, collecting and disposing waste.

The “Informal Sector in Solid Waste Management” refers to individuals, families, and private

sector micro-enterprises working in waste management services and valorization, whose

activities are neither organized, sponsored, financed, contracted, recognized, managed, taxed, nor

reported upon by the formal solid waste authorities (Gunsilius et al, 2011).

In the Philippine context, they are called the Informal Waste Sector (IWS). As defined by

NSWMC, they are individuals, families, groups or small enterprises engaged in the recovery of

waste materials with revenue generation as the motivation either on a full-time or part-time basis.

They work without any formal recognition by any government accreditation, licensing or

regulating agency. Some of them work for licensed waste-related enterprise but are not legally

employed by the owner of the enterprise. They have no social and economic security and work

under substandard and unhealthy work conditions, and have limited access to basic services.

Depending on where and how materials are recovered, the informal waste sector can be

classified as follows:

a) Waste reclaimers or waste pickers. They sort recoverable waste materials at any point of

the waste flow. Most of them are also living on or around the dumpsite. By settling in

these areas, they minimize on transportation costs. Most of them access discarded wastes

for use as construction materials for their homes thus saving on housing costs.

b) Itinerant waste buyers. They are waste collectors who go house-to-house to purchase

recyclables directly from the household-owners and/or domestic helpers. Sometimes

junkshop owners provide them with a small operating capital and a pushcart to purchase


12

the recyclables. They also recover materials from public bins and garbage bags that are

left by waste generators at collection points.

c) Jumpers at collection trucks. They are unauthorized persons (usually young men) who

live near disposal facilities, and climb the garbage trucks to recover the recyclables

before it reaches the disposal facility.

d) Garbage crew or paleros. They are crew of publicly or privately contracted garbage

trucks, who work with the LGU to collect garbage from the households and

establishments. While the garbage trucks are en route to the disposal facility, one or two

of the garbage crew starts separating the saleable waste materials. This activity is often

tolerated by the LGU because it augments the small income of the garbage crew.

e) Junkshops. They are the buyers of the recyclables from the itinerant waste buyers,

jumpers, garbage crews and waste pickers. They, in turn, sell their recyclables to

consolidators who either sell the recovered materials to local recycling industries or to

exporters of the said materials. Some junkshops have permits to operate, especially the

medium and big junkshops, while small junkshops often operate without any business

permits.

In the conceptual framework of RA 9003, implementing waste diversion is only delegated to the

municipal government and the barangays. The barangays are required to implement mandatory

source segregation, establish materials recovery facility, collect and process the recyclables and

biodegradables. The recyclables are further sorted in the MRF and sold to junkshops while the

biodegradables are processed into composts. The municipal/city government, on the other hand,

is tasked to collect and dispose residual and special wastes. For the latter, municipal governments

are required to set up separate and contained physical areas in their disposal facilities. Although

the waste recovery done by the informal waste sector is not usually accounted for by the LGU’s


13

waste diversion program, it is undeniable that the IWS works independently to achieve the same

objectives. Figure 3 shows how the informal waste sector is working alongside the formal solid

waste sector in converting wastes.

Figure 3: Roles of the Informal Waste Sector in the Conceptual Framework of RA 9003

Source: National Framework on Informal Waste Sector, NSWMC

Recyclables must be recovered at the community level through materials recovery facilities and

only residual wastes are to be transported to the disposal facilities. In practice, waste recovery

takes place at various points: the waste generation points, where households and establishments

sell their recyclable materials to itinerant waste buyers or junk shops; the barangay or privately

operated materials recovery facilities; the garbage collection points, where street waste pickers

precede the arrival of garbage trucks; in the garbage truck, where the garbage crew also engage


14

in waste picking; and finally, the disposal facility (Ecowaste Coalition, 2013).

The IWS is considered as the most vulnerable group in municipal solid waste management.

Communities who live within or near the SWM facilities are likewise considered vulnerable. It

includes thousands of informal waste workers, among them women, children and elderly, who

depend on informal waste collection and recovery as a means of livelihood. In RA 9003, waste-

picking and unauthorized waste collection activities are prohibited, but the lack of livelihood and

educational opportunities push them to do informal waste work. It provides them the opportunity

to earn on a daily basis, if they so wish, without the competitive job requirements of paid

employment (NSWMC, 2009).

Importance of the Informal Waste Sector in SWM

The wastes of Metro Manila are composed mostly of biodegradables which consist of 52% of the

whole waste composition, next are recyclables at 41% and residuals at 7%. Figure 4 illustrates

this variation in waste composition. The informal waste sector has the ability to handle all kinds

of wastes but are experts in collecting or

scavenging for saleable recyclables.

Conventional practices prove that informal

stakeholders are active in solid waste

collection and recovery all over the world,

sometimes for centuries already. They

carry out a significant proportion of

recycling activity in solid waste

management. Several studies have shown

52% 41%

7%

Waste Composition

Biodegradables

Recyclables

Residuals

Figure 4: Metro Manila’s Waste Composition

Source: SWM data sets for Metro Manila,

NSWMC Online Database


15

that these informal recycling activities have positive effects on the environment, reduce the costs

of waste management systems and provide income opportunities for large numbers of poor

people. These positive effects of informal sector recyclers should be explicitly factored into the

design of waste management systems (Gerdes & Gunsilius, 2010).

Importance of IWS in Recyclable Waste Materials Recovery

As shown in Figure 2, the informal waste sector largely intervenes in the waste transfer during

transport to disposal areas, waste processing in materials recovery facilities, and finally waste

disposal in dumpsites and/or landfills. The major importance of the role they play in handling

waste is their segregation of recoverable, saleable or recyclable materials. In most cases, the

local government fails to implement segregation at source and collection due to many factors.

Table 1: Collection of recyclable materials by primary collectors (kg/person/day)

Source: The Study on Recycling Industry Development in the Republic of the

Philippines, JICA, 2008


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Overall, the IWS is able to recover a large amount of paper, other metals, and plastics compared

to the formal street collectors and collection crew employed by the city or barangay. In Table 1,

it can be seen that in recovering paper materials, aluminum, plastic, glass, and other metals, the

disposal site scavengers are able to collect more in terms of kilograms than collection workers

and street collectors.

In addition to these primary collectors, there are also the middlemen (junkshop owners) and

traders (consolidators). Junkshop owners are the buyers of the recyclable materials sourced by

waste pickers, jumpers and paleros. The consolidators, on the other hand, are the ultimate

receivers of the wastes segregated by the IWS, including those collected at the junkshops. They

then bring these waste materials to domestic recycling industries or export them to foreign

markets like China. Table 2 shows how junkshops and consolidators collect far more wastes than

eco-aides.

Table 2: Collection of recyclable materials by middlemen and traders (kg/day/dealer)

Source: The Study on Recycling Industry Development in the Republic of the

Philippines, JICA, 2008


17

With the data above, it can be inferred that the IWS handles large volumes of waste materials at

no or marginal cost to the municipal government or taxpayers. Informal sector activities

contribute to moderating the overall costs of management of solid waste and recyclables. For

instance, the formal SWM players spends an average of Php1,575/ton of waste they handle,

while the informal sector earns Php4,485/ton of waste they handle (SWAPP, 2006).

The hierarchy of the recycling chain is shown in Table 3, from the least paid and vulnerable to

those who benefit most in economic terms.

Table 3: Hierarchy of Informal Waste Sector Recycling

Source: Role of Informal Sector Recycling in Waste Management in

Developing countries, Habitat International, 2005

Importance of IWS in Biodegradable and Electronic Waste Recovery and Processing

Aside from their large contribution in recycling, the IWS is also involved in the diversion of

biodegradable wastes from final disposal. They recover leftover food from food establishments

in highly urbanized areas. Leftover foods are directly consumed by the waste picker and their

families, or sometimes sold to informal food vendors to be cooked again and sold to the public.

Meanwhile, it is known that the country is engaged in importing and exporting electronic and

electrical wastes from its neighbors. Imported electronic and electrical materials enter the

Philippine market almost at the end of their life cycle, thus providing an opportunity for recovery

of its component parts and materials. In addition to these e-wastes are domestically purchased


18

electronic and electrical materials and appliances that also reach the end of their life cycle. Both

the formal and informal sector engage in the recovery of e-wastes but the latter is at a distinct

disadvantage because of their lack of knowledge about the dangers of handling e-waste resulting

to environmental and health hazards. The recovered E-waste are either exported or recycled and

refurbished by local companies (NSWMC, 2009).

Legal Framework

The poor performance of the formal waste sector in waste diversion is offset by the waste

recovery activities of the informal sector. Thousands of waste pickers conduct waste picking

activities in waste disposal facilities throughout the country since mixed waste collection is still

the predominant practice. Itinerant waste buyers roam the cities and countryside buying and/or

picking recyclable wastes. Jumpers recover wastes from garbage trucks prior to the arrival of

these trucks in the disposal facilities. The recovered materials are sold to junkshops and

eventually end up as raw materials for local industries or exported abroad. Some even recover

leftover food from food establishments so that these can be sold or eaten by their families. These

workers, men, women and even children collect, sort, recycle and sell the valuable materials

thrown by others. While they have significantly contributed to the recovery and trading of

recyclables, they are a neglected sector since there are no policy and standards on how they will

operate within the current framework of RA 9003 (NSWMC, 2009).

The NSWMC saw the deficiency in the National SWM Framework as well as the absence of a

provision in RA 9003 regarding the informal waste sector. This has led them to create the

National Framework Plan for the Informal Waste Sector in Solid Waste Management

(NFPIWSSWM). Effective May 20, 2010, Resolutions no. 47 and 48 namely "Resolution

Adopting the National Framework Plan of the Informal Sector in Solid Waste Management" and


19

"Resolution Creating the Multi-sectoral Committee for Capacity Development of the Informal

Sector" were adopted by the commission and approved by Secretary Horacio C. Ramos. The

report is based on the findings from the project funded by Ministry of the Environment of Japan

(MOEJ) and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES).

The framework plan is expected to fulfill the ff. objectives: 1) to provide preliminary assessment

of existing regulations, policies, practices on the involvement of the informal sector in solid

waste management; 2) to consult and build consensus among stakeholders on the planned

national framework; and 3) to identify areas and activities, and appropriate strategies for the

national framework.

The only national agency directly involved in the development of the informal waste sector is the

National Solid Waste Management Commission through the Department of Environment and

Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau. Other national agencies work directly or

indirectly with the sector due to their mandates. These include the Department of Social Welfare

and Development, Department of Education, National Housing Authority, Presidential

Commission for the Urban Poor, Department of Labor and Employment, and Department of

Agriculture. In addition to the national government agencies, there are also various church-

based, private organizations and non-government organizations working closely with the sector

to prioritize their needs and welfare.

The plan was made after a series of consultations with different stakeholders, including waste

pickers, mostly coming from Luzon. A Pre-Congress of the Informal Waste Sector was held in

2011, but since then, there is no information about the current situation of waste pickers

(Ecowaste Coalition, 2013).


20

Shown in Table 4 are the Proposed Interventions, Proposed Strategies, and Critical Actors and

Partners as outlined in the NFPIWS.

Table 4 (part 1): Proposed Interventions, Proposed Strategies, and Critical Actors and Partners

Source: National Framework Plan for the Informal Waste Sector in Solid Waste Management,

NSWMC, 2009


21

Table 4 (part 2): Proposed Interventions, Proposed Strategies, and Critical Actors and Partners

Source: National Framework Plan for the Informal Waste Sector in Solid Waste Management,

NSWMC, 2009

These proposals and key actors are guided by the vision and mission of the framework, which

states that:

An empowered informal waste sector that is recognized as a partner of the public

and private institutions, organizations and corporations in the promotion and

implementation of the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) of solid waste management

in the Philippines with the end in view of alleviating poverty.

To integrate the informal sector in the SWM system by providing them with a

favorable policy environment, skills development and access to a secured

livelihood, employment and social services.

Moreover, the specific goals of the NFPIWS are to (a) formulate and enforce policies that enable

the informal waste sector to be integrated in the formal solid waste management system; (b)


22

assist the informal waste sector to have access to employment and alternative livelihood

opportunities by providing skills development, protection from occupational hazards and risks;

(c) provide access to social services including sanitation and health, education and housing; (d)

facilitate and strengthen partnerships of the informal waste sector with the local governments,

private sectors, non-government sectors, and other civil society groups; and (e) enforce the laws

on child labor in relation to waste management activities. The interventions, strategies, and

actors and partners provided by the NSWMC will be later on used on as a guide in its application

to the scavengers’ social realities and evaluate the level integration that has been initiated or

sustained.

Integration of the Informal Waste Sector

Social Integration, as defined by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development,

is an inclusionary goal, implying equal opportunities and rights for all human beings. In this

case, becoming more integrated implies improving life chances.

In waste systems, fulfilling this goal is initiated through Integrated Waste Management (IWM).

IWM means a single, overall approach to managing waste in a city, town, or region. It is a frame

of reference for designing and implementing new waste management systems and for analyzing

and optimizing existing systems. It is based on the concept that all aspects of a waste

management system (technical and non-technical) should be analyzed together, since they are in

fact interrelated and developments in one area frequently affect practices or activities in another

area (UNEP, 2005). Separating informal and formal on the one hand, and waste and recycling on

the other, is simply not possible. The systems cross each other in every possible way, and are so

thoroughly interwoven that any intervention anywhere in the system will affect all parts of it.


23

Solid waste management is not a set of unconnected parts, it is a highly dynamic system with

deep connections between parts (Gunsilius, et al.).

In some studies, IWM is an approach geared towards sustainability, wherein all parts that

constitute the system become sustainable in a certain process time. WASTE (a Dutch NGO) and

its partners, called this modified IWM the Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM).

They provided a comprehensive framework that encompasses the three dimensions that comprise

waste management systems – stakeholders, waste system elements, and aspects.

Figure 5: ISWM Framework developed by WASTE

As visualized in Figure 5, the IWSM looks at: (a) stakeholders, which includes everyone who

has a stake or interest in the current waste management system; (b) waste system elements,


24

which include the operational elements from generation to disposal; and (c) sustainability

aspects, which includes the technical, social, political, environment and financial-economic.

This framework just goes to show how important it is that there is an integrated approach in

waste management systems to attain sustainability. The issue of waste management has always

been central to the discussion of sustainable development because waste is an inevitable by-

product of economic development. In per capita terms, the greater the GNP, the greater the

quantity of waste produced. On the other hand, waste, in all its forms, when not properly

managed contribute significantly to environmental degradation (Pedragosa, 2001).

Importance of an Integrated Approach

According to UNEP, an integrated approach is an important element of sound practice because:

1. Certain problems can be more easily resolved in combination with other aspects of

the waste system than on their own. Also, development of new or improved waste

handling in one area can disrupt existing activities in another area unless changes are

handled in a coordinated manner.

2. Integration allows for capacity or resources to be optimized and, thus, fully utilized;

there are frequently economies of scale for equipment or management infrastructure

that can be reached only when all of the waste in a region is managed as part of a

single system.

3. An integrated approach allows for participation of public, private, and informal sector

participants, in roles appropriate for each.

4. Some waste management practices are more costly than others, and integrated

approaches facilitate the identification and selection of low-cost solutions. Some

waste management activities cannot bear any charges, some will always be net

expenses, while others may produce an income. An integrated system can result in a

range of practices that complement each other in this regard.


25

5. Failure to have an integrated system may mean that the revenue-producing activities

are “skimmed off” and treated as profitable, while activities related to maintaining

public health and safety fail to secure adequate funding and are operated at low or

insufficient levels.

The operative term in the system is integration. All the possible components and elements of a

good waste management practice is integrated into one big program. Integration appears to be

very promising, since an integrated system seems to address all the problems in waste

management and covers all aspects, from waste generation to waste processing and disposal.

Ideally, it is the last great hope toward liberation from the pestering garbage problems

(Pedragosa, 2001).

Social Development Approach

The Social Development Approach seeks to integrate economic and social policies within a

dynamic development process in order to achieve social welfare objectives. Social development

is shown to transcend the dichotomy between the residualist approach, which concentrates on

targeting resources to the most needy, and the institutional approach which urges extensive state

involvement in welfare (Midgley, 1995).

In a development approach that attempts to strengthen informal sector integration in solid waste

management, the objectives being pursued are: (1) to improve the working and income

conditions of informal sector actors and (2) to give them the longest-term perspective possible as

waste management actors. This requires a minimum of official recognition and organization of

waste pickers. It does not mean however that the informal sector has to be fully formalized

(GTZ, 2008). Moreover, this approach suggests particular enabling conditions for the IWS and

success factors for integration.


26

Enabling Conditions for Integrating the Informal Waste Sector

According to a study by GTZ conducted in Brazil, Egypt and India, integrating the informal

waste sector depends on many factors. The four major enabling conditions relevant for

promoting the integration process are:

1. Voice – The organization of informal sector workers into membership-based bodies

accountable to their members and the representation of these organizations in relevant

policymaking institutions. Organization is a precondition to integration.

2. Visibility. Official recognition of the economic contribution of informal sector workers,

resulting from improved labor force and other economic statistics and from policy

research. The demand for integration has to be substantiated.

3. Validity. Legal identity and formal recognition of informal sector workers and their

membership-based organizations. Integration has to be backed by political power.

4. Viability. The commercial viability of the informal waste sector is the single most

important reason informal waste enterprises continue to flourish under existing

competitive market conditions. Economic autonomy supports Integration.

It is important to distinguish between internal factors enabling informal workers to be active in

solid waste management over a long period and factors that further the sustainable integration of

the informal sector in official solid waste management systems. The primary characteristic of the

informal sector is that even in a context unfavorable to their activity, informal waste pickers and

recyclers remain active in waste management as long as they earn an income from it, however

small (GTZ, 2008).

Success Factors Influencing the Integration of the Informal Sector in Solid Waste Management

1. Internal Organization and Capacities of the Informal Sector


27

- The capacity to structure their activity and comply with regular working hours enhances

informal actors’ potential to act as a contracting partner for municipal governments and

formal enterprises.

- The entrepreneurial capacities of informal sector workers and organizations are an

important factor in the sustainability of informal sector intervention.

- The creation of self-confidence and trust between informal sector workers is a

precondition for organization in cooperatives or small enterprises, an important factor to

establish regular relations with the local government and the private sector.

2. Participation of NGOs in the Integration Process

- The first steps in the bottom-up organization of waste pickers have always been taken by

NGOs. NGOs often create crucial links between the formal and the informal private

sector.

3. Social Acceptance of Informal Sector Workers

- Creating a more positive public and political attitude towards waste pickers through civil

society campaigns promotes informal sector integration.

4. Political Will to Integrate the Informal Sector

- The development of legal structures must occur alongside the development of social,

organizational and technical structures.

- Legal protection measures for waste pickers (identity cards, land property rights etc.)

facilitate the organization and professionalization of waste pickers’ activities.

- Integration of the informal sector in recycling schemes has to maintain a balance between

professionalization (formalized organizational structures, efficient recycling techniques)

and an open system that provides an income to large numbers of unskilled workers. waste


28

management systems design that facilitates recycling (separate collection schemes,

possibilities for recovery and transport of recyclables to informal sector recycling plants

etc.) is important for the successful integration of the informal sector.

- Seeking convergent interests/complementary action between formal sector enterprises

and the informal sector can strengthen the position of informal sector recyclers.

- Establishment of regular business relationships with recycling and productive industry

improves income opportunities of informal sector workers

Levels of Integration

As suggested by the Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines, integration must

be done and ensured at three levels:

a) Policy Level – accreditation of informal sector as waste management service

providers and provision of incentives, e.g. tax exemptions or tax credits, and

regulatory standards to guide the informal sector in the provision of services.

b) Institutional level – organizing the sector into associations or cooperatives duly

recognized by the national and/or local governments and inclusion of the sector in

the SWM committees or local SWM boards.

c) Operational level – developing partnership and contract agreements for services,

i.e. collection, street cleaning and MRF management and provision of support

services and system in forms of price monitoring, loan assistance, environmental

health information dissemination, as well as education and alternative livelihood

training.


29

Statement of Hypothesis

Most often than not, the Informal Waste Sector form the very basis of waste collection services

at the community level and at no cost to local governments. Organically grown informal sector

activities are highly adaptable, flexible and able to respond quickly to demand-driven forces.

Informal waste collectors and recyclers unrelentingly come up with adaptive strategies to access

waste and circumvent barriers while at the same time integrating new systems as they emerge.

The integration of informal stakeholders increases the efficiency of the waste management

system (Gerdes & Gunsilius, 2010).

Integrating and legitimizing the informal waste sector can be expected to boost sales to the

formal recycling industry. Regularizing and integrating informal recovery into the overall solid

waste system, as modelled in the addition scenarios of the cities, has its main benefits in terms of

recovery rates and overall solid waste system costs. In general, policies that facilitate stronger

integration of the informal sector would result in an increase in the rate of material recovery.

Such an increase would be modest in some cities, and dramatic in others, but in all events,

disposal rates can be predicted to drop, allowing for savings in investments for transport to

landfills, landfill space and landfill operation (Gerdes & Gunsilius, 2010).

Integrative approaches offer advantages in environmental, economic and social terms and are

thus seen as being the most sustainable future alternative in many cities. Environmental

Advantages include high recovery rates as their ability to recycle is vital for the livelihoods of

the people involved. By contributing significantly to the recovery of organic waste and non-

organic materials, they also contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases and thus to the

mitigation of climate change. Economic Advantages suggest that through these kinds of

activities, formerly unskilled workers are educated, new jobs are created and structural


30

disparities are reduced. Also, the integration of the informal sector aims to utilize the

entrepreneurial abilities of waste collectors to create business models that can be accommodated

within present economic paradigms. Integrating informal sector workers has the potential to

significantly improve their living conditions. In addition, integration of the informal sector can

also help to optimize solid waste management services for formerly underserved poor

populations.

Failure to integrate the informal waste workers in the Ecological Solid Waste Management

System will perpetuate the cycle of poverty. Moreover, it causes prolonged exposure of women

and children to the health impacts of toxic, hazardous and infectious materials in the solid waste

stream thereby creating huge social health costs. Informal waste workers have expertise in waste

recovery. Their work contributed to savings in waste collection and disposal. Local governments

will potentially incur more costs in waste collection, processing, and recovery if they do not

integrate the sector in their ESWM system (NSWMC, 2009).

Integration of the Informal Waste Sector into the Solid Waste Management System clearly

provides more gains than losses to all the stakeholders, as well as the environment. In the

National Framework Plan for the Informal Waste Sector, it is envisioned that there will be “an

empowered informal waste sector that is recognized as a partner of the public and private

institutions, organizations and corporations in the promotions and implementation of the 3 Rs of

solid waste management in the Philippines with the end in view of alleviating poverty.” Studies

show that the partnership with the informal recycling sector is a real opportunity to improve

waste management and resource efficiency while contributing to poverty reduction and

improvement of working and living standards.


31

Conceptual Framework

Figure 6: Conceptual Framework on IWS Integration

In the process of integration of the IWS in SWM, there are three factors that would assist and

measure integration. Through Capacity Development, Human Security, and Social Inclusion,

they are integrated in Municipal Solid Waste Management. The scope of the Municipal SWM

can be considered within the scope of a town or municipality. In order to understand these

indicators and social measurements, it is important to operationalize these terms and apply the

concepts to the communities. In this chapter, all of these factors will be defined and discussed in

the context of this study’s hypothesis.

Capacity Development

Capacity development starts from the principle that people are best empowered to realize their

full potential when the means of development are sustainable – home-grown, long-term, and

generated and managed collectively by those who stand to benefit. Capacity development is the

process through which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain

the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time. Simply put, if

capacity is the means to plan and achieve, then capacity development describes the ways to those

means. An essential ingredient in this capacity development approach is transformation. For an

Capacity Development

Human Security

Social Inclusion

INTEGRATION

Solid Waste

Management

Informal

Waste

Sector


32

activity to meet the standard of capacity development, it must bring about transformation that is

generated and sustained over time from within. Transformation of this kind goes beyond

performing tasks; instead, it is more a matter of changing mindsets and attitudes (UNDP, 2009).

It is transformation that empowers individuals, leaders, organizations and societies. The sector or

people involved must always be consulted first before engaging in the development process. If

something does not lead to change that is generated, guided and sustained by those whom it is

meant to benefit, then it cannot be said to have enhanced capacity, even if it has served a valid

development purpose.

UNDP identifies three points that serve as the barometers of capacity development. Capacity is

said to be grown and nurtured in an enabling environment, in organizations and within

individuals. These three levels influence each other in a fluid way – the strength of each depends

on, and determines, the strength of the others.

1. The enabling environment: is the broad social system within which people and organizations

function. It includes all the rules, laws, policies, power relations and social norms that govern

civic engagement. It is the enabling environment that sets the overall scope for capacity

development.

2. The organizational level: refers to the internal structure, policies and procedures that

determine an organization’s effectiveness. It is here that the benefits of the enabling

environment are put into action and a collection of individuals come together. The better

resourced and aligned these elements are, the greater the potential for growing capacity.

3. At the individual level: are the skills, experience and knowledge that allow each person to

perform. Some of these are acquired formally, through education and training, while others

come informally, through doing and observing. Access to resources and experiences that can


33

develop individual capacity are largely shaped by the organizational and environmental

factors described above, which in turn are influenced by the degree of capacity development

in each individual.

Figure 6: Capacity Development Process

Source: UNDP Capacity Development Primer

Developing capacity is a process of growth and evolution. It is a process of upwardly spiraling

cycle of events. The specific circumstances of a given situation determine the prominence of

each step in the process. Later on in the Presentation and Analysis of Findings, it is inquired

whether this process was put into practice in developing the capacity of the scavengers.

Human Security


34

The Commission on Human Security, in its final report Human Security Now, defines human

security as:

“…to protect the vital core of all human lives in ways that enhance human freedoms and

human fulfillment. Human security means protecting fundamental freedoms – freedoms

that are the essence of life. It means protecting people from critical (severe) and

pervasive (widespread) threats and situations. It means using processes that build on

people’s strengths and aspirations. It means creating political, social, environmental,

economic, military and cultural systems that together give people the building blocks of

survival, livelihood and dignity.”

Moreover, in this concept of human security defined by CHS, there are seven (7) types of

security: Economic security, Food security, Health Security, Environmental security, Personal

security, Community security, and Political security. Listed in the table below are the main

threats in each of the human security types.

Table 5: Possible Types of Human Security Threats

Source: Based on the UNDP Human Development Report of 1994 and the HSU

Protection and empowerment of people are the two building blocks for achieving the goal of

human security. Protection is a term encompassing “strategies, set up by states, international

agencies, NGOs and the private sector, to shield people from menaces.” It refers to the norms,

processes and institutions required to protect people from critical and pervasive threats.


35

Protection implies a "top-down" approach, as it recognizes that people face threats that are

beyond their control, such as natural disasters, financial crises and conflicts. Human security

therefore requires protecting people in a systematic, comprehensive and preventative way. States

have the primary responsibility to implement such a protective structure. However, international

and regional organizations; civil society and non-governmental actors; and the private sector also

play a pivotal role in shielding people from menaces. Moreover, empowerment is defined by the

CHS as “strategies that enable people to develop their resilience to difficult situations.”

Empowerment, on the other hand, implies a “bottom up” approach. It aims at developing the

capabilities of individuals and communities to make informed choices and to act on their own

behalf. Empowering people not only enables them to develop their full potential but it also

allows them to find ways and to participate in solutions to ensure human security for themselves

and others. As clearly stated by the CHS, protection and empowerment are mutually reinforcing

and cannot be treated in isolation: both are required in nearly all situations of human insecurity,

though their form and balance will vary tremendously across circumstances (UNHSU, 2009).

Social Inclusion

Social Inclusion is the process of improving the terms for individuals and groups to take part in

society. It is the process of improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of people,

disadvantaged on the basis of their identity, to take part in society. It exposes the

multidimensional nature of chronic deprivation arising from social exclusion, which plays a key

role in driving the more readily observable correlates of poverty (lack of schooling, poor health,

and constrained labor market returns). Individuals and groups are excluded or included based on

their identity. Among the most common group identities resulting in exclusion are gender, race,

caste, ethnicity, religion, and disability status. Social exclusion based on such group attributes


36

can lead to lower social standing, often accompanied by lower outcomes in terms of income,

human capital endowments, access to employment and services, and voice in both national and

local decision making (The World Bank, 2013).

Figure 7 shows the illustrative example of types of identities. The size of each bubble denotes the

importance of an identity, which can vary across individuals, groups, and even the same

individual over time. Individuals are members of different groups at once and may be excluded

through one of their identities but not another. The notion of “intersectionality” is based on the

understanding that people are simultaneously situated in multiple social structures and realms.

However, when they intersect, identities can produce a multiplication of advantage or

disadvantage (The World Bank, 2013).

Figure 7: Illustrative Example of Multiple, Intersecting Identities

Source: Inclusion Matters: The Foundation for Shared Prosperity


37

There are different internal factors that affect the status of waste pickers. These factors include

their knowledge, skills, attitudes, age, gender, and life history; the sociopolitical climate; market

forces; and social capital and linkages. Social capital refers to the norms and networks that

facilitate collective action. The combination of these factors may lead to social exclusion or

inclusion. Social inclusion is where people feel they are valued, their differences are respected,

and their basic needs are met so that they can live in dignity (Ecowaste Coalition, 2013).

Individuals and groups want to be included in three interrelated domains: markets, services, and

spaces. Figure 8 shows the characteristic and relationship of these domains. The three domains

represent both barriers to and opportunities for inclusion. Just as different dimensions of an

individual’s life intersect, so do the three domains. Intervening in one domain without

consideration of the others is likely to be one of the most important reasons for the limited

success of inclusion policies and programs (The World Bank, 2013).

Figure 8: A Framework on Propelling Social Inclusion

Source: Inclusion Matters: The Foundation for Shared Prosperity


38

Research Methodology

In this study, qualitative methods were employed. It is also explanatory and evaluative since it

aims to examine the real condition of the informal waste sector in municipal solid waste

management and provide a detailed picture of how integration occurs between the informal and

formal waste systems, as guided by the National Framework Plan for the Informal Waste Sector

in Solid Waste Management.

Research Design

The general idea of this paper originated from a concept paper, wherein research questions were

formulated from current relevant issues and personally proposed solutions. This then reinforced

the problematization of a fragment in Philippine social reality, particularly the plight of the

scavengers, which would become the focus of this paper. From this, the research objectives

which would answer and guide the research questions were shaped. Specific theories and design

to be employed were established in the consequent research proposal. A timetable was set for

data collection – field works and site visits were scheduled within a given period, following

particular deadlines. After the data was sourced, it was managed (transcription) and stored (soft

copies). Guided by the main theories of the paper, data interpretation and analysis was

conducted, most important of which is the evaluation of integration in the waste management

system of Rodriguez, Rizal.

Idea Theory Design Data

Collection Findings Analysis


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Setting

In the Philippines, there are two most common forms of waste disposal. As defined in DENR’s

SWM Made Easy, these are:

Dump site – a lot where solid waste is brought by dump trucks for disposal. Many

people make a living by scavenging recyclable items at the dumpsite.

Sanitary Landfill – a more sanitary and better managed disposal facility but more

expensive to put up and maintain. A plastic or clay liner separates the waste from

the soil to prevent seepage of liquid into groundwater. The dumped waste is

spread out by bulldozers, sprayed with deodorizers, covered with soil, and planted

with grass.

Currently, there is a trend among LGUs of transitioning from using dumpsites to sanitary

landfills in waste management. It manifests higher compliance among LGUs towards the closure

and rehabilitation of dumpsites as well as the improvement of disposal method by establishing

sanitary landfill as proper waste disposal facility and materials recovery facilities for waste

reduction and minimization.

Table 4 lists the three disposal facilities servicing the whole of National Capital Region. It is

common knowledge how the Payatas and Navotas Sanitary Landfills is highly unsustainable as it

is visible to NCR residents. It can be seen how mountains of garbage are collected and disposed

at these areas. However, the Rizal Provincial Landfill is strategically placed on – literally – the

top of the mountain, away from the urban cities and closer to peaceful environments and rural

communities. It services 11 cities in Metro Manila through official agreements. Aside from them,

it also services all towns in Rizal which is its true constituency area.


40

Payatas Sanitary Landfill Quezon City

Navotas Sanitary Landfill Manila City

Malabon

Navotas

Rizal Provincial Landfill Caloocan

Mandaluyong

Makati

Muntinlupa

Las Piñas

Pasay

Parañaque

Pasig

Marikina

Taguig

San Juan

Table 4: Disposal facilities servicing cities

and municipalities in NCR

Rizal Provincial Sanitary Landfill

Rodriguez is a first-class, urban municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. It is the

northernmost town in the province and also the largest in terms of land area. The town is

locatedon the slopes of the Sierra Madre mountain range and features many parks and resorts. It

is known to be a “town of mountains.” From its north to south, a series of sloping ridges, hills

and mountain ranges adorn the town. In fact, around 27% or the town is occupied by mountains

and slopes. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 280,904 inhabitants. It is one of

the richest municipalities in the Philippines, ranking eighth in 2007 with an annual income of

₱310 million. It is politically subdivided into 11 barangays (8 urban, 3 rural); one of which is

Barangay San Isidro, where the Rizal Provincial Sanitary Landfill (RPSL) is located. It can be

noted how the mountains of Sierra Madre is easily accessible from Quezon City and Marikina

with only an estimated travel time of 1 hour at the minimum. Disposing waste at this location is

seen as a strategic plan of management by many local government units in Metro Manila.


41

Figure 9: Rodriguez, Rizal Map

With the initiative of the Metro Manila Development Authority through its agreement with the

Municipality of Rizal, most cities in the metro are allowed to dump waste on the RPSL given

that they pay the consequent fees. Table 4 lists all local governments that procure the services of

RPSL. The RPSL is a 19-hectare landfill which houses different waste facilities like the dumping

area, waste emplacement area and covering, leachate collecting system, hydrogeological

isolation system, materials recovery facility (MRF), a nearby methane power plant, a motorpool

area and a cafeteria. Shown in the next few pages are the aerial and actual photos of the RPSL.


42

Photo 1: RPSL Gate, as generated by Google Earth

Photo 2: Actual RPSL Entrance (photo taken with permission by the researcher)


43

Photo 3: RPSL in aerial view, as generated by Google Earth

Photo 4: Actual view from the RPSL


44

Population

In this study, the population is constituted by the whole sector including the waste pickers,

itinerant waste buyers, jumpers, garbage crew or paleros, and middlemen or traders. Since the

largest group among the informal waste sector is the waste pickers at 37%, sample is selected

from this group. Since it can be derived in Table 4 that the landfill in Rizal is the largest and

services the most number of local governments, population will be derived from this location.

The total population of scavengers in the Rizal Provincial Sanitary Landfill is currently at 1, 573.

Sampling Procedures

In collecting data from the respondents, Purposeful Random Sampling is employed. In the

population, there are 7 associations of scavengers in the landfill. Sample is derived from the 3

largest associations.

Ethical Considerations

Research ethics observed in this study are in accordance with those stated by Polit and Hungler,

namely the principles of beneficence, of respect for human dignity and of justice.

1. Principle of beneficence

- Freedom from harm

There was no physical harm produced by participating in the study.

Psychological discomfort might have resulted from the nature of the questions

asked.

- Freedom from exploitation

This was observed by not exploiting the participant’s vulnerabilities. Careful

explanations were provided to the scavengers about their right to refuse to


45

participate in the study, and that their participation or refusal would not

influence their employment in the landfill in any way whatsoever.

- Risk benefit ratio

The risk implied the anticipated psychological discomfort resulting from the

questions asked. The benefit was that they were able to express their sentiments

and grievances.

2. Principle of respect for human dignity

- Right to self-determination

The right to self-determination was followed by providing the participants with

the right to refuse to participate in the study, the right to discontinue the study if

they felt uncomfortable, the right not to answer specific questions if they did not

want to disclose that information and the right to ask for clarification if they

were not sure about any aspect of the research.

- Right to full disclosure

The researcher described the nature of the study, the participants retained the

right to refuse participation, the researcher’s responsibilities and the

risks/benefits involved, before the actual interviewing process commenced.

3. Principle of justice

- Right to fair treatment

The participants were tactfully treated by respecting their beliefs, habits, culture

and lifestyle. An opportunity was provided for each participant to ask questions

and to air his feelings.


46

- Right to privacy

The right to privacy was respected because the researcher offered each

participant privacy by interviewing the persons individually in a private area

and by treating data collected with confidence. The completed interview

schedules were only accessible to the researcher. Data collected was used for

the purpose of this study only. The presentation of findings would provide facts,

figures, graphs and tables but no names of individuals nor of institutions would

appear in this report. The researcher would treat all information in the strictest

confidence and not divulge any information shared with her to any other person

nor institution.

Informed Consent

Informed consent means the knowing consent of individuals to participate as an exercise of their

choice, free from any element of fraud, deceit, duress, or similar unfair inducement or

manipulation. In the case of minors or mentally impaired persons, whose exercise of choice is

legally governed, consent must be obtained from the person or agency legally authorized to

represent the interests of the individual. Typically, informed consent slips contain a written

statement of potential risk and benefit and some phrase to the effect that these risks and benefits

have been explained. As a rule, these slips are dated and signed by both the potential subject and

the researchers or their designated representative (Bluceberg, 2001).

Research Instruments

Structured Personal Interviews

According to Babbie, the standardized interview uses a formally structured schedule of interview

questions. The interviewers are required to ask subjects to respond to each question. The


47

rationale here, of course, is to offer each subject approximately the same stimulus so that

responses to the questions, ideally, will be comparable (as cited in Bruceberg, 2001).

Researchers using this technique have fairly solid ideas about the things they want to uncover

during the interview (Schwartz & Jacobs, 1979). In other words, Denzin suggests that

researchers assume that the questions scheduled in their interview instruments are sufficiently

comprehensive to elicit from subjects all (or nearly all) information relevant to the study's

topic(s). They further assume that all the questions have been worded in a manner that allows

subjects to understand clearly what they are being asked. Stated in slightly different terms, the

wording of each question is equally meaningful to every subject. Finally, they assume that the

meaning of each question is identical for every subject. These assumptions, however, remain

chiefly “untested articles of faith.” Moreover, language used is Filipino for utmost articulation.

In sum, standardized interviews are designed to elicit information using a set of predetermined

questions that are expected to elicit the subjects' thoughts, opinions, and attitudes about study

related issues. Standardized interviews thus operate from the perspective that one's thoughts are

intricately related to one's actions (Bruceberg, 2001).

Uncontrolled and non-participant observation

Field notes

Sources of Data:

Key informants

Respondents


48

Presentation of Findings

History of RPSL

2002 – January 2002 marked the formal opening of the 14-hectare Montalban Solid Waste

Disposal Facility located at Sitio Lukutang Munti, Barangay San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal.

One month prior, the municipality of Rodriguez and the Metropolitan Manila

Development Authority (MMDA) entered into a memorandum of agreement, allowing

MMDA to dump garbage in the MSWDF for P450 per ton of trash per truck. With as

many as 200 trucks that enter the area daily, collections can reach up to P90, 000 a day

and P2.7 million a month. Clearly, the revenue generated by the landfill went straight to

the municipal government, headed by then Mayor Pedro Cuerpo, since they started and

managed the project.

2003 – The municipality of Rodriguez entered into a contract with the International Solid Waste

Management Specialist (ISWIMS) Inc. for the establishment of the MSWDF. ISWIMS is

the private owner and operator of the landfill.

2004 – The MSWDF secured an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the

Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The MSWDF also entered into a

contract with Karbon Kredit Philippines for the operations of the planned Methane Gas

Recovery and Electricity Generation Project. The Montalban Methane. Implemented the

project in 2006

2007 – A memorandum of agreement was signed by the Municipality of Rodriguez and ISWIMS

agreeing to distribute the 10% royalty fees it will get from the methane energy project.

The municipality will give 8.75% of this to the provincial government, while 20% is given

to ISWIMS. In the same year, the Provincial Government of Rizal issued Resolution No.


49

123 recommending the closure of MSWDF, under some grounds. Many have seen this

move by the provincial government as a form of politicking in order to take a hold of the

landfill’s growing revenue. Weeks after this, PNP Rodriguez Chief Henry Daaca tendered

his resignation, being unable to stand the rift between Governor Casimiro Ynares III and

Rodriguez Mayor, Cuerpo. However, this didn’t hinder the provincial government to issue

Resolution No. 132 requesting PNP-Rizal and the Bureau of Fire Protection-Rizal to assist

them in the closure of MSWDF. Resolutions No. 137 was also issued, declaring the

operationalization of the 19-hectare Rizal Provincial Sanitary Landfill (RPSL) – which

was an enlargement of the MSWDF – under a cluster scheme composed of the

Municipalities of Angono, Taytay, Cainta, San Mateo, and Rodriguez. Moreover, the

subsequent Resolution No. 138 gave favorable due course to the letter request of Hon.

Bayani F. Fernando, then-Chairman of MMDA to be allowed to use RPSL for at least 6

months – proceeds of payments of which were now received by the provincial

government. Having felt that they are being robbed of their rights and interests, Rodriguez

town residents formed a human barricade near the landfill to stop dump trucks from

different municipalities in Metro Manila from going in. They flashed placards questioning

the governor’s decision to control the landfill facility. They saw the decision as a denial of

potential job opportunities for locals. Finally, on October 2007 – after the hostilities

among parties – the Provincial Government of Rizal was able to get a provisional

Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from DENR to operate the hotly-contested

sanitary landfill.

2008 – Gov. Ynares and the Rizal Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) got Cuerpo suspended for

allegedly violating the Local Government Code (RA 7160). A private complainant named


50

Renato Rodriguez filed a case saying that Cuerpo and the Rodriguez ordinances 07-12 and

07-13 violated the RA for authorizing the collection of a development exaction fee, a right

of way fee, a wash bay service fee, and other fees upon any government or private entity

using the then-operating MSWDF. Vice Mayor Jonas Cruz was sworn in as acting mayor

of Rodriguez. The Office of the President (OP) issued a Stay Order after Cuerpo appealed

for the dismissal of his suspension. Meanwhile, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay sent

around 40 Makati City garbage trucks outside the MMDA Central Office along the

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue. The garbage could not be dumped into the RPSL since the

Rizal provincial government barred garbage trucks from different municipalities in Metro

Manila because of MMDA’s failure to pay their P84 million worth of unpaid fees. After

consultation and settlement done in the following days, the landfill reopens. Resolution

No. 85 was issued authorizing MMDA to allow certain cities/municipalities of Metro

Manila to utilize RPSL as its Solid Waste Disposal Facility for an interim period of 6

months and for other purposes. The Montalban Methane Power Plant (MMPP) opened.

The Court of Appeals granted the petition of the Rizal provincial government and set aside

the Stay Order of the OP. Malacañang decided to enforce a stay order decision stating “so

as not to prejudice public interest and deprive the people of Rodriguez, Rizal, of the

service of their duly elected Mayor.” The Rizal provincial board effectively dismissed

Cuerpo’s 6-month suspension. Cuerpo was able to serve as Rodriguez mayor once again.

2009 – The Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO) filed an application for the approval of the

Contract for the Supply Electricity (CSE) with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)

between MERALCO and MMPC. The ERC approved MERALCO’s application.


51

2010 – Since then, the RPSL is being managed by provincial government, with ISWIMS still its

private owner and operator.

Photo 5: RPSL entrance signage (photo taken with permission by the researcher)


52

References

Asian Development Bank. (2004). Garbage Book. Mandaluyong, PH: ADB.

Bluceberg, B. (2001). Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences Fourth Edition.

Ecowaste Coalition. (2013). Documentation of the Status of Waste Pickers in Six Selected Sites

in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao: A Consolidated Report.

Gerdes, P. & Gunsilius, E. (2010). The Waste Experts: Enabling Conditions for Informal Sector

Integration in Solid Waste Management. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische

Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH Partnerships for Recycling Management.

Gunsilius, E., et al. (2011). The Economics of the Informal Sector in Solid Waste Management.

Collaborative Working Group on Solid Waste Management in Low- and Middle-income

Countries Publication Series No. 5.

Gunsilius, E., Spies, S., Garcia-Cortes, S., Medina, M., Dias, S., Scheinberg, A., . . . Ruiz, S.

(2011). Recovering Resources, Creating Opportunities: Integrating the Informal Sector

into Solid Waste Management. Eppelheim, GY: Aksoy Print.

Gupta, S. (2010). Integrating the Informal Sector for Improved Waste Management. Retrieved

from www.proparco.fr.

Midgley, J. (1995). Social Development: The Developmental Perspective in Social Welfare.

SAGE Publications Ltd.

National Solid Waste Management Commission. (2009). National Framework Plan for the

Informal Waste Sector in Solid Waste Management.

Pedragosa, S. (2001). Solid Waste Management in Metro Manila Revisited: The Role and

Contributions of the Informal Sector (Master of Urban and Regional Planning dissertation).

Retrieved from UP Diliman Archives.

The World Bank (2013). Inclusion Matters: The Foundation for Shared Prosperity. Washington,

DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank.

United Nations Development Programme (2009). Capacity Development: A UNDP Primer. New

York, NY: UNDP.

United Nations Environment Programme (2005). Solid Waste Management (Volume 1).

United Nations Human Security Unit (2009). Human Security in Theory and Practice. New

York, NY: UNHSU.

United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. (1994). Social Integration:

Approaches and Issues. UNRISD Briefing Paper No. 1, World Summit for Social

Development.


53

Wilson, D.C., Velis, C. & Cheeseman, C. (2005). Role of Informal Sector Recycling in Waste

Management in Developing Countries. Habitat International.


54

APPENDICES


55


College of Arts and Sciences

Univeristy of the Philippines Manila

Padre Faura St., Ermita, Malate, Manila

April 3, 2016

Solid Waste Management Office

Municipality of Rodriguez

Rizal Province

Sir/Ma’am:

Greetings!

I am Amaryll Juris M. Banzuela, a senior under the program BA Political Science, from the

University of the Philippines Manila. As part of the necessary requirements for the fulfillment of

my program, I am finishing my undergraduate thesis entitled “Integrating Rizal Provincial

Landfill’s Informal Waste Sector in the Municipal Solid Waste Management System: A

Critical Evaluation,” which is stimulated and guided by the R.A. 9003 or the Ecological Solid

Waste Management Act, and National Solid Waste Management Commission’s National

Framework Plan for the Informal Waste Sector in Solid Waste Management.

The Informal Waste Sector (IWS) is an important stakeholder in Solid Waste Management

(SWM). Local governments go hand-in-hand with this sector and the residents in their

constituent communities to be able to effectively implement and practice SWM. My study aims

to evaluate the living and working conditions of IWS and level of integration present in the

SWM system of the Municipality of Rodriguez, Rizal.

I request your good office for a public copy of your Provincial and/or Municipal Solid Waste

Management plan to aid me in my research. In addition to this, I would also like to request for

an interview with any of your Solid Waste Management officer or any member of the Municipal

Solid Waste Management Board, in your preferred date and time. Attached are the data to be

inquired and guide questions for the interview.


56

Your participation is essential in the success of my study and I’m hoping for your kind

consideration. Attached are substantive chapters of my thesis for your perusal. For confirmation,

concerns and/or inquiries, you can reach me at 09178132260 or [email protected].

Thank you so much and more power!

Sincerely yours, Noted by:

Amaryll Juris M. Banzuela Prof.Doroteo Abaya, Jr.

2011-13372 Thesis Adviser

University of the Philippines Manila DSS, University of the Philippines Manila


57

Magandang araw po! Ako po si Amaryll Juris M. Banzuela mula sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas

Maynila. Ako po ay magtatapos sa ilalim ng programang BA Political Science. Sa ngayon ay

isinasagawa ko ang aking pag-aaral patungkol sa integrasyon ng mga manggagawang kabilang

sa impormal na pangangalakal at pagreresaykel, sa sistema ng Solid Waste Management ng

munisipyo. Ninanais nitong suriin ang antas ng integrasyon ng mga manggagawa na sa

partikular ay nagtatrabaho sa Rizal Provincial Landfill.

Makakatulong po kayo sa aking pag-aaral sa pamamagitan ng pakikibahagi sa isang sarbey o

interbyu, na ating isasagawa sa oras na inyong itatakda. Makakaasa po kayong lahat ng inyong

sasabihin ay hindi ko ipapamahagi kaninuman. Upang masiguro ito, tayo po ay pipirma sa isang

informed consent form o “Pahintulot sa Paglahok sa Interbyu para sa Pananaliksik.”

Maraming salamat po at nawa’y bigyan niyo po ito ng konsiderasyon. Kayo po ay magiging

malaking tulong sa pagkumpleto ng aking pananaliksik.

Magandang araw po! Ako po si Amaryll Juris M. Banzuela mula sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas

Maynila. Ako po ay magtatapos sa ilalim ng programang BA Political Science. Sa ngayon ay

isinasagawa ko ang aking pag-aaral patungkol sa integrasyon ng mga manggagawang kabilang

sa impormal na pangangalakal at pagreresaykel, sa sistema ng Solid Waste Management ng

munisipyo. Ninanais nitong suriin ang antas ng integrasyon ng mga manggagawa na sa

partikular ay nagtatrabaho sa Rizal Provincial Landfill.

Makakatulong po kayo sa aking pag-aaral sa pamamagitan ng pakikibahagi sa isang sarbey o

interbyu, na ating isasagawa sa oras na inyong itatakda. Makakaasa po kayong lahat ng inyong

sasabihin ay hindi ko ipapamahagi kaninuman. Upang masiguro ito, tayo po ay pipirma sa isang

informed consent form o “Pahintulot sa Paglahok sa Interbyu para sa Pananaliksik.”

Maraming salamat po at nawa’y bigyan niyo po ito ng konsiderasyon. Kayo po ay magiging

malaking tulong sa pagkumpleto ng aking pananaliksik.


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Pahintulot sa Paglahok sa Interbyu para sa Pananaliksik

Ako ay boluntaryong lumalahok sa isang pananaliksik na isinasagawa ni Amaryll Juris M.

Banzuela na estudyante mula sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Maynila. Naiintindihan ko na ang

proyektong ito ay isinasagawa para makalikom ng impormasyon tungkol sa antas ng

integrasyon na nararanasan ng mga mangangalakal sa Rizal Provincial Landfill.

Ang aking partisipasyon sa proyektong ito ay boluntaryo. Naiintindihan ko na hindi ako

babayaran sa aking partisipasyon. Maaari kong bawiin at hindi ipagpatuloy ang paglahok

anumang oras nang walang multa. Kung tatanggihan ko na sumali o hindi ipagpatuloy ang

paglahok sa pag-aaral ay walang ibang makakaalam.

Naiintindihan kong karamihan sa mga iinterbyuhin ay maaaring maisip na ang talakayan ay

interesante at nangangailangan ng malalim na pag-aalala. Kung sakaling ako ay hindi

komportable sa anumang paraan sa panahon ng interbyu, ako ay may karapatan na tanggihang

sagutin ang anumang mga katanungan o tapusin na ang interbyu.

Ang pakikilahok ay kinabibilangan ng pakikipagpanayam sa mananaliksik mula sa Unibersidad

ng Pilipinas Maynila. Ang panayam ay tatagal sa humigit-kumulang 30 minuto. Isusulat niya ang

aking mga pahayag sa panahon ng pakikipanayam. Isang audio tape ng interbyu ang gagawin

at kasunod ay ang pagsalin nito sa papel. Kung hindi ko nais na i-record ito ay hindi ako

makakapaglahok sa pag-aaral.

Naiintindihan ko na ang mananaliksik ay hindi ako kikilalanin sa aking pangalan sa anumang mga ulat sa paggamit ng impormasyon na nakuha mula sa pakikipanayam, at ang pagiging kompidensiyal ng aming panayam, bilang isang kalahok sa pag-aaral na ito, ay mananatiling ligtas. Kasunod ng mga paggamit ng mga talaan at impormasyon ay sasailalim sa mga karaniwang patakaran ng paggamit ng impormasyon sa proteksyon ng pangalan ng mga indibidwal at institusyon. Nabasa at nauunawaan ko ang pagpapaliwanag na ginawa sa akin. Ako ay kuntento sa mga sagot sa lahat ng aking katanungan at ako ay boluntaryong lumalahok sa pag-aaral na ito. Ako ay nabigyan ng kopya nitong liham sa paghingi ng pahintulot sa pag-iinterbyu. Sa pamamagitan ng paglagda, kinikilala ko na nabasa at naintindihan ko ang kasulatang ito.

__________________________ ________________________ Lagda Petsa _____________________________ ________________________ Buong Pangalan Lagda ng Mananaliksik


59

Note:

Key Informant - an officer from ISWIMS and an officer from the federation of

associations of scavengers

Respondent - at least 10 scavengers from a variety of age groups

Questions for Key Informant:

What is your position? What are your functions?

Since when have you been working on the project?

Can you give me a brief background about the project?

Geographical background? What are the waste facilities within the landfill?

How do you operate? What is the system of dumping, recycling and waste recovery?

What is the current population in the area? Are there women or minors?

What percentage are formal workers? Informal workers?

How is informal work being integrated in the system? Are they considered employees of the

company?

How do they apply?

What is the conduct of their work? How do they earn their income?

Are there any policies formulated and/or implemented towards the informal workers? What are

the rules and regulations?

Are there any incentives or forms of support the company provide for informal workers?

How do they contribute to the efficiency and productivity of Solid Waste Management?

Do they help in the improvement of the waste management system?

How are the associations of workers recognized?

What are their roles in the productivity of waste operations?

What are the prevailing issues the workers are facing?

Is there any government intervention?

What is the level of privatization? How does the local government of Rizal coordinate with

ISWIMS?


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Questions for Respondents:

Profile

Ano po ang inyong Edad, Kasarian, Marital Status?

Social and Economic Background

Saan po kayo nakatira? Malapit lang po ba kayo rito sa landfill?

Ligtas po ba kayo roon? Nakaranas na po ba kayo ng pagbaha o sakuna? May narinig na ho ba

kayong mga krimen sa inyong lugar?

Ilan po kayo sa pamilya?

Ano po ang trabaho ng inyong asawa?

Nakapag-aral po ba kayo? Nag-aaral po ba ang inyong mga anak?

Ano-ano at magkano ang inyong pang-araw araw na gastusin? Pagkain, tubig, kuryente, renta,

baon ng mga bata?

Malakas ho ba ang tubig at kuryente sa inyong lugar?

Magkano po ang inyong kinikita kada araw?

Sapat po ba ito para sa inyong mga gastusin? Nakakapagtabi po ba kayo?

Nature of Work and Character of Work Environment

Anong klase ng trabaho ang inyong ginagawa? Ano ang inyong kinakalakal?

Gaano katagal na po kayong nangangalakal? Ano pong trabaho ang dati niyong ginagawa?

Bakit po ito ang napili ninyong trabaho?

Meron pa po ba kayong ibang pinagkakakitaan?

Paano po kayo nagsimula sa trabahong ito?

Nagkasakit na po ba kayo o napahamak dahil sa trabaho?

Nararamdaman niyo po bang ligtas kayo sa tuwing kayo’y nagtatrabaho?

Organization

Kabilang po ba kayo sa kahit anong organisasyon? Kung hindi, bakit po?

Kung oo, ano po ang naitutulong nito sa inyong trabaho?

Ano po ang kanilang mga gawain? Ano po ang suportang kanilang naibibigay sa kanilang mga

miyembro?


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Issues

Ano po ang mga problemang ikinakaharap niyo sa trabaho? Sa inyong pang-araw-araw na buhay?

Perception on Government/Management Intervention

Malapit ho ba kayo sa eskwelehan, palengke, health center, brgy hall?

May na-attendan na po ba kayong literacy o livelihood program ng barangay o munisipyo? O

mga dental-medical mission?

May natanggap na po ba kayong tulong mula sa barangay o sa munisipyo? Mula sa ISWIMS?

Ano pong tingin niyo rito?


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Key Informant 1 Interview

Location: Rizal Provincial Landfill, Rodriguez, Rizal Date: March 8, 2016

Type of data collection event: In-depth Interview Duration: 16:00 Interviewer: Sir [name], ilang taon na po kayo? Participant: 50. I: May asawa po ba kayo? P: Oo. I: Ilan po yung anak niyo? P: Anim (6). I: Ano po yung mga organisasyong hinahawakan niyo? P: Bayanihan, Slaba Masa, Simca Association, SJ Association, Bagong Buhay, Smapa Association, Vendor's I: Ano po yung posisyon niyo sa asosasyon? P: Ako ang federation president. I: Mga ilang taon na po kayong presidente? P: Sa federation, tatlong (3) taon na. Sa Bayanihan, president ako ng 7 years. I: Taga-dito lang po ba kayo? Malapit lang po ba dito ang tirahan niyo? P: Oo, dito lang sa may looban, sa likod ng landfill. I: Pwede niyo po ba ako bigyan ng konting background kung paano po nagtatrabaho sa landfill? P: Ang trabaho namin ay yung manguha ng mga kalakal. Yung kalakal sinesegregate namin yan, depende dun sa klase nya. Halimbawa – lata, bote, karton, papel. I: Kayo din po yung nagtatransport nun? P: Itinatransport namin yan kasi meron kami yung mga tinatawag na buyer. Doon namin dinadala, pero hindi lahat. Kasi ang buyer dito marami eh, hindi lang iisa. Kumbaga, kanya-kanya kaming dalahan. I: So marami pong bumibili diyan tulad ng mga junkshops? P: Oo. I: Yung mga nagtatrabaho po bang scavengers dito kailangan ipaalam sa ISWIMS? P: Ang mga gusto maghanapbuhay, sa asosasyon nag-aapply yan. Tapos ang asosasyon ang (nagrerecommend) sa ISWIMS na may bago kaming miyembro o dapat tulungan. May mga rason yan kung bakit kailangan tanggapin. May proseso yan. I: Sa ngayon po ilan ang mangangalakal dito sa landfill? Ano po ang populasyon nila? P: Ang total namin lahat ay 1,573. Pero pag ganitong panahon kasi, mainit, halos lahat umaahon. I: Ano po yung age group na tinatanggap niyo na pwede magtrabaho?


63

P: 18 na siya dapat. Kung halimbawa babae o lalaki, pero meron kaming tinatawag na age limit, hanggang 70 years old. Kapag walang kakayahan, talagang pinapaalis namin. Kasi malalakas naman ang mga tao rito. Pero pag nakikita namin na medyo (delikado) na, di na namin pinapapasok, baka ma-disgrasya pa sila. I: Paano po yung sistema ng kita nila doon sa pangangalakal? P: Nakadepende pa rin yun sa sipag nila. Per kilo ang kita. I: Nakukuha po agad nila yun? ____ P: 2002 nagdedevelop na yung landfill. Sinusubukan pa lang nila magpasok ng scavengers. Kaya nakapasok ang asosasyon dahil nga hinikayat kami (ng ISWIMS) na dagdag kita o hanapbuhay. I: Ano po ba mga activities ng mga samahan dito? Ano po yung mga ginagawa nila? P: Kapag tag-araw mayron kaming mga palaro, mga pabingo ganun. Para lang mag-bonding. I: Mayron po ba ditong kooperatiba? P: Ang ISWIMS mayron. Mayroon din kaming sariling kooperatiba, kaya lang hindi naman lahat (naghuhulog) dun. I: Bilang federation president, ano po ba yung ginagawa niyo? P: (Ako) yung tumatayo at namamagitan sa bawat asosasyon. Kasi kung walang federation, nagkakagulo, nagkakanya-kanya silang (hakot). I: Iba-iba po yung trabaho ng bawat asosasyon? P: Parehas lang. Kaya lang yung paniniwala at yung prinsipyo, nagkakaiba-iba. I: Tulad po ng? P: Halimbawa may gusto silang ipairal na patakaran na nakakasagabal din sa iba o naaapektuhan yung iba, so kami yung nagdedecide at kami yung (nagpapatupad) ng mga panukala, kung tama ba yung kanilang ginagawa. Kasi kumbaga parang sa laro yan, kapag walang referee, magkakagulo yan eh, magkakanya-kanya yan. I: Paano po sila umabot ng anim na grupo? P: Ganito kasi yan, kaya hinati yung asosasyon, dahil sa sobrang dami, hindi sila (organized) magtrabaho doon sa loob ng landfill. I: Kapag may mga meeting po yung ISWIMS, sino po ang pumupunta? P: May mga meeting kami na ginaganap. Kung ito'y general, ibig sabihin lahat kami kasama. Every month may meeting ang ISWIMS at tsaka mga opisyales. Kasama lahat ng officer. I: Sinisiguro po ng ISWIMS na safe lahat? P: Oo, kailangan safe lahat. I: Sino-sino po yung naiiwang mga boss rito mula sa ISWIMS? P: Mayroong head ng motorpool. Mayroong head ng operation at tsaka infra. I: Okay po, yun lang po. Maraming salamat.


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Respondent 1 Interview


Type of data collection event: In-depth Interview Duration: 7:50

Interviewer: Pasensya na po kayo bigla kayong pinaakyat rito (sa guardhouse).

Participant: Okay lang yun.

I: Saglit lang po ito... Ilang taon na po kayo?

P: 48 years old.

I: May asawa po ba kayo?

P: Meron.

I: Ilan po yung anak niyo?

P: Marami.

I: Matagal na po ba kayong nagtatrabaho dito?

P: Matagal na.

I: Mga ilang taon na po?

P: Mga 10 years na ata.

I: Saan po kayo nakatira? Malapit lang po ba kayo dito?

P: Diyan lang ho.

I: Dito lang sa tabi (ng landfill)?

P: Oho.

I: Sa mga anak niyo po, meron din po bang nagtatrabaho rito?

P: Meron.

I: Ilan po sila?

P: Dalawa.

I: Magkano po yung araw-araw niyo na gastusin, sa bahay po?

P: 400 po.

I: Buong pamilya na po yun?

P: Opo.


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I: Yung mga anak niyo ba nag-aaral?

P: Isa lang yung nag-aaral ko eh. Yung dalawa hindi. Maliit pa eh.

I: Yung isa po anong grade na po?

P: Grade 5... Yung isa sana, kaso huminto. Ayaw eh.

I: Kayo po ba, nakapag-aral po ba kayo?

P: [nods in disagreement]

I: Ano pong klase ng trabaho ang ginagawa niyo?

P: Pamamasura lang.

I: Ano po yung mga kinakalakal niyo po?

P: Mga plastik... tsaka bote, mga bakal, mga alum, plastic, mineral.

I: Ito lang po ba yung pinagkakakitaan niyo?

P: Opo.

I: Magkano po yung kinikita niyo kada araw?

P: Sa isang tao, mataas na ho ang 300.

I: Ano po ba yung dati niyong trabaho na ginagawa bago po kayo mangalakal?

P: Sa [city in Metro Manila] pa ako noong araw... helper, technician.

I: Pano po kayo nagsimula dito? Nung lumipat na po kayo?

P: Kasi... umuwi ako ng [a province in Visayas]. Pagbalik ko rito, dahil wala na ngang ibang hanapbuhay na maganda ang kita. Kasi pag magtatrabaho ako (sa ibang lugar), mamamasahe ako. Tapos yung pang-meryenda ko, kakapusin na yung pangkain ko. Dito na lang ako kasi walang pamasahe eh. Walang gastos.

I: Kabilang po ba kayo sa kahit anong organisasyon?

P: Oo. Slaba (referring to Slaba Masa).

I: Ano po bang naitulong ng organisasyon na ito sa inyong pagtatrabaho?

P: Pagbuo ng samahan tsaka pangangalakal.

I: Sa pinansyal po, meron po ba kayong kooperatiba na kinabibilangan?

P: [nods no]

I: Ano po bang ginagawa ng organisasyon niyo?


66

P: Pagturo ng mga bawal sa loob (ng landfill).

I: Yung anak po na kasama niyo jan, ilang taon na po siya?

P: Disi-otso (18).

I: Yung kinikita niyo po ba sa araw-araw, sapat po ba yun sa mga gastusin ninyo?

P: Minsan kasi hindi pare-parehas ang kita eh. Minsan mahina, minsan malakas.

I: Nagkasakit na po ba kayo o nadisgrasya dahil sa pagtatrabaho?

P: Sa awa ng Diyos, wala pa naman.

I: Meron po ba kayong kakilala na nagkasakit na o nadisgrasya dahil sa pangangalakal?

P: [nods no]

I: Sa pangangalakal po, ano po yung mga problemang kinakaharap niyo minsan? Halimbawa po sa ipon, sa kita.

P: Minsan kasi yung katawan hindi kayang maghanapbuhay, nagkakasakit ka. Trangkaso lang, pasma.

I: Anong oras po ba kayo nagsisimulang magtrabaho?

P: Ang pasok ko dito alas-sais (6AM). Tapos 5PM lalabas na.

I: Pero meron po kayo ng mga break?

P: Nasa sa'yo naman yun eh kung andun ka lang o maghapon ka na 'ron.

I: Kanya-kanya (na break)?

P: Oo.

I: So kung ilang po yung makuha niyong kalakal, yun lang din po ang kikitain niyo?

P: [nods yes] Kaya nga hindi pare-parehas ang kita (kada tao). Minsan mataas, minsan mababa.

I: Noong nagtrabaho po kayo dito, andito na po yung ISWIMS?

P: Oo. Pero sa Payatas ako galing.

I: Ano po bang pagkakaiba nung sa Payatas tsaka po rito?

P: Organized dito. Kasi nung araw nung hindi pa nahahawakan ni [name of person with authority] doon, ang tao dun kanya-kanya dito sa Payatas. Noong nahawakan ni [name of person with authority], naayos na. Pagpunta ko rito, ganun din.

I: Yung sa seguridad niyo po?

P: Mas safe dito kasi may mga guwardiya, nagsasaway ng "Bawal jan!"


67

I: Meron po bang binibigay na tulong sa inyo ang munisipyo?

P: Meron din. Yung calamity fund, kapag may bagyo. May binibigay din sila.

I: Mga ano po?

P: Mga bigas.

I: Yun lang po. Salamat po.




Interviewer: Ano po pangalan niyo?

Participant: [discloses name]

I: Ilang taon na po kayo?

P: Bente kwatro (24) po.

I: May asawa na po ba kayo?

P: Mayroon na po.

I: Ilan po ang anak niyo?

P: Dalawa na po.

I: Ilang taon na po sila?

P: Isang 3 years old po at isang 1 year old.

I: Magkano po ang gastos niyo sa isang araw?

P: Nasa P300.

I: Bukod po sa pangangalakal niyo, ano pa po ang inyong pinag-kakakitaan?

P: Nagbebenta rin po ako ng baboy.

I: Magkano niyo po nabebenta?

P: Minsan P6,000.

I: Ah. Nakapag-aral po ba kayo?


68

P: High school graduate po ako.

I: Anong klaseng trabaho ang ginagawa niyo sa loob ng landfill?

P: Pangangalahig.

I: Ano po ang kinakalakal niyo?

P: Mga bote po ng zonrox ganun.

I: Anong oras po kayo nagsisimula?

P: Minsan 7AM.

I: Anong oras po kayo natatapos?

P: Half-day lang kami. Hindi ako makatagal sa loob kasi ang init.

I: Magkano po ang kinikita niyo kada araw?

P: Nasa P200 hanggang P700 po. Sumasabay kami sa paglabas ng truck. Pagdating sa junk shop, pipiliin pa namin at isesegregate.

I: Mga ilan po kayo sumasama sa junk shop?

P: Marami. Minsan nasa 40 kami.

I: Pero may presyo na po ba talaga yung mga binebenta niyo? O binabarat pa kayo?

P: Hindi naman. Depende na kasi yun pag mura na sa pabrika.

I: Buti walang nag aagawan sa kalakal.

P: Agawan talaga yan sa loob ng landfill. Pagdating sa junk shop, kanya kanya na. Kasi sila naman kumuha nun.

I: Gaano na katagal na po kayong nangangalakal?

P: Maglilimang buwan pa lang po. Dati akong security guard.

I: Saan po kayo nagsesecurity dati?

P: Sa [somewhere in Manila City].

I: Paano po kayo nagsimula dito sa pangangalakal?

P: Dito po ako nakatira.

I: Pero yung kita niyo sa pagsesekyu niyo dati? Mas okay naman dati?

P: Mas okay dito kahit papano. Nakakaiwas kami sa ibang bayarin.


69

I: Kabilang po ba kayo sa kahit ano doon sa pitong organisasyon?

P: Slaba Masa.

I: Ano po naitutulong ng organisasyon sa inyo?

P: Malaki tulong samin. Kasi minsan pag naaaksidente po kami, binibigyan kami ng mga pang-gamot.

I: Sagot nila lahat o ambag lang?

P: Ambag lang.

I: Sa loob ng limang buwan niyo dito sa pangangalakal, nagkasakit na po ba kayo?

P: Nagkasakit na.

I: Mga ilang beses na po?

P: Maraming beses na. Di pa sanay eh.

I: Pero buti hindi pa kayo nagdidisgrasya.

P: Hindi pa naman. Wag naman.

I: Hindi po ba kayo nagulat? Galing kayo sa pagsesekyu tapos biglang pangangalakal?

P: Nanibago ako siyempre. Unang baril eh.

I: Sapat naman po ba ang kinikita niyo?

P: Sapat naman, pero pag nagkulang, e’di utang.

I: May kakilala po ba kayo na naaksidente sa pangangalakal?

P: Wala pa. Safe dito, pero hindi mo masabi, minsan may nagtatapon ng gamot dito. Ingat ingat nalang.

I: Paano niyo nalalaman kung delikado yun?

P: Alam ng mga kasama ko din, sinasabi nila. Mga sanay na eh. Minsan malalaman mo nalang.

I: Mayroon po ba kayong naiipon?

P: Mayroon naman, mga bente bente araw araw.

I: Mayroon po ba kayong nakukuhang tulong mula sa barangay, sa munisipyo?

P: Wala.

I: Kahit kailan wala?

P: Wala po.


70

I: Dito sa ISWIMS?

P: Wala rin. Ay mayroon po pala nagbigay ng mga tsinelas.

I: Mayroon po ba kayong kinakaharap na problema dito sa pagtatrabaho niyo?

P: Hindi naman maiiwasan yun.

I: Anu-ano po iyon?

P: Yun nga, minsan kinakapos kami.

I: Wala po bang mga away dito?

P: Meron naman.

I: Paanong away?

P: Kunwari, sagutan.

I: Pero hindi yung malala? Bugbugan?

P: Meron din. Dahil sa asaran ganun. Siyempre pag tungkol sa pamilya mo maaasar ka diba?

I: Mayroon bang babae diyan?

P: Meron, madami.

I: Sige yun lang po. Salamat!

P: Sige sige.


Location: Rizal Provincial Landfill, Rodriguez, Rizal Date: April 3, 2016


Interviewer: Ano pong pangalan nila?


I: Ilan taon na po kayo?

P: Trenta (30).


P: Meron.


P: Dalawa.


71

I: Saan po kayo nakatira?

P: Dito lang. Diyan sa baba (ng landfill).

I: Wala naman pong nangyayari ritong landslide?

P: Wala naman po.

I: Wala naman pong mga krimen dito?

P: Wala dito sa amin. Malayo na sa amin yun. Kasi probinsya na 'to eh.

I: Ano pong trabaho ng asawa niyo?

P: Wala. Sa bahay, nag-aalaga ng bata.

I: Ilang taon na po yung mga anak niyo?

P: Yung panganay, 7.

I: Nag-aaral na po ba siya?

P: Hindi eh. Kasi special siya eh.

I: Yung isa po ilang taon na?

P: Apat na buwan pa lang, maglilima.

I: Magkano po yung mga pang-araw-araw niyong gastusin?

P: Mga kulang-kulang 400. O kaya limandaan.

I: Malakas ho ba ang kuryenta at tubig sa inyo?

P: Wala kaming kuryente eh, generator lang. Yung tubig kinukuha sa balon. Patuyo na nga yung balon eh.

I: Hindi po kayo gumagastos sa tubig?

P: Hindi.

I: Magkano po ginagastos niyo sa kuryente?

P: Trenta (30) isang araw ko eh. Bale apat (4) na oras yun. Nakikikabit lang naman kami (ng kuryente).

I: Magkano po yung kinikita niyo dito sa pangangalakal sa isang araw?

P: Depende. Kapag maganda yung tapon, kumikita rin ng 300. Kagaya niyan may binubulasi yung mga trak, mababa. Minsan mga dalawang-daan (200) lang.

I: Ano po yung mga kinakalakal niyo?

P: Lahat ng metals na makukuha namin sa mga basurahan.


72

I: Gano katagal na po ba kayong nangangalakal dito?

P: Matagal na, mga 7 years na ako dito.

I: Taga-rito po talaga kayo sa Brgy. San Isidro?

P: Hindi. Napunta lang ako dito, kasi taga-rito ang misis ko eh.

I: Saan ho ba kayo talaga nakatira noon?

P: Ang probinsya ko [a province in Visayas]. Yung misis ko naman sa [a province in Luzon], andun na sila ngayon.

I: So kayo lang po ang nandito ngayon?

P: Oo, ako lang mag-isa. Yung anak ko nga may sakit eh, nasa ICU daw ngayon. Apat na araw na. Tapos wala naman akong mapadala 'run kasi ang baba ng kita ko. Nagpadala lang ako dun konti.

I: Bakit po kayo natira dito?

P: Kasi dati na sila (misis) nakatira rito eh. Pati yung mga magulang niya. Tapos ngayon bumalik sila dun sa probinsya nila. Doon na sila naghahanapbuhay.

I: Bago po nito, ano po yung dati niyong trabaho?

P: Dati ako sa bakery. Palipat-lipat lang dito sa Maynila.

I: Paano po kayo nagsimula dito (sa pangangalakal)?

P: Natuto lang din ako eh. Mga kakilala at kamag-anak ng misis ko. Hanggang sa natuto na rin ako, hanggang sa tumagal din.

I: Nagkasakit na po ba kayo dahil sa trabaho? O kaya napahamak?

P: Oo, madalas. Pero hindi naman ako napahamak pa. Tulad ngayon, apat na araw na ako tinatrangkaso eh, tsaka ubo't sipon.

I: Doon po ba sa baba (landfill), nararamdaman niyo po bang ligtas kayo sa tuwing kayo'y nagtatrabaho?

P: Yung trabaho namin mapanganib lalo na 'pag tag-ulan. Kasi kapag bumigat na yung basura, minsan nagkaka-landslide. Minsan pag makitid yung tapunan, may natatabunan. Nasasagasaan ng bulldozer.

I: Kapag maulan lang po?

P: Kahit ngayon (tag-araw).

I: Kabilang po ba kayo sa kahit anong organisasyon dito sa landfill?

P: Slaba (referring to Slaba Masa) ako, eh.

I: Ano po bang naitulong ng organisasyon na 'to sa inyong pagtatrabaho?


73

P: Halimbawa, may naaksidente sa amin, kapag may nadisgrasya jan sa loob, yung pamunuan tumutulong. 'Tsaka tulong-tulong rin kaming mga miyembro.

I: Ano po bang ginagawa niyo sa organisasyon? Ano po yung mga activities niyo?

P: Tulungan lang kami.

I: Ano pa po ang ibang mga problemang kinakaharap niyo sa pagtatrabaho?

P: Marami. Kasi kapag maraming pasaway sa amin, ma-suspende kami. May isa lang gumawa ng kamalian, lahat damay. Apektado din yung hanapbuhay namin.

I: Yung tirahan niyo po ba sa baba malapit po ba kayo sa palengke, sa health center o kaya sa barangay hall?

P: Malayo dito. Doon pa yun sa central.

I: Meron na po ba kayong na-attendan na kahit anong project o kaya program ng munisipyo o kaya ng barangay?

P: [nods no]

I: O kaya mga dental-medical mission?

P: Minsan kapag may pumunta rito.

I: Pero yung galing ho sa munisipyo o barangay?

P: Wala.

I: Meron na po ba kayong natanggap na tulong mula sa munisipyo o kaya sa barangay?

P: Naalala ko parang meron eh. Di ko maalala kung sa munisipyo galing yun o sa barangay.

I: Dito po sa ISWIMS, meron po ba silang binibigay na suporta sa mga scavenger?

P: Wala.

I: Nag-aapply po ba para makapagtrabaho diyan?

P: Oo, meron din kaming mga requirements eh. Tulad ng biodata. Kailangan din ng ID.

I: Sige po, 'yun lang po. Salamat po.




Interviewer: Ano pong pangalan niyo?



74

I: Sige po. May mga itatanong lang po ako. Ilang taon na po kayo?

P: 23.

I: Meron po ba kayong asawa?

P: Meron na po.


P: Dalawa (2).

I: Ano po trabaho ng asawa niyo?

P: Naglalaba ng damit.

I: Ilang taon na po yung mga anak niyo?

P: Yung isa, pito (7). Tapos yung isa tatlo (3).

I: Saan po kayo nakatira? Malapit lang po ba kayo dito?

P: Dun po sa harang sa baba.

I: Ligtas po ba kayo doon? Meron na po kayong mga naranasang mga landslide ganun?

P: Meron na.

I: Ano po?

P: Yung malakas na bagyo nung nakaraan.

I: Ano po ba yung bahay niyo? Bato?

P: [Mahina] lang yun, bayod lang yung mga dingding.

I: Nakapag-aral po ba kayo?

P: Grade 6 lang.

I: Yung anak niyo pong seven years old, nag aaral po ba siya?

P: Grade 1 na.

I: Mga magkano po yung pang-araw-araw niyong gastusin?

P: Hanggang isang daan (100). Yun l ang.

I: Kasama po ba dito yung tubig at kuryente?


75

P: Wala po kaming kuryente.

I: Yung tubig po?

P: Yung tubig binabayaran namin. Mga sampu sa isang araw.

I: Saan niyo po yun binabayaran?

P: Sa NAWASA.

I: Magkano po yung kinikita niyo sa bawat araw?

P: Minsan po 150. Pinakamataas na dalawang daan (200).

I: Nakakapag-tabi po ba kayo?

P: Meron naman.

I: Ano pong klase ng trabaho ang ginagawa niyo sa baba? Ano po yung kinakalakal niyo?

P: Mga plastic, tapos mga mineral.

I: Gaano katagal na po ba kayong nangangalakal?

P: Mga pitong (7) taon na.

I: Ano po yung dati niyong trabaho? O ito na po talaga trabaho niyo?

P: Construction dati kong trabaho.

I: Dito din po sa Rizal?

P: Oo diyan lang sa *place undisclosed*

I: Meron pa po ba kayong ibang pinagkakakitaan?

P: Ito lang.

I: Paano po kayo nagsimula sa pangangalakal?

P: Niyaya lang po ako dito ng barkada ko.

I: Dito din po sila nagtatrabaho?

P: Oo, hanggang ngayon.

I: Ah so kung seven years na po, ilang taon po kayo nagsimula?

P: Katorse.


76

I: Nagkasakit na po ba kayo o napahamak dahil sa pangangalakal?

P: Oo, nabagsakan na ako ng TV diyan dati.

I: Saan po kayo ginamot?

P: Sa may ospital diyan.

I: Kayo din po ba nagbayad nung pagpapagamot niyo?

P: Oo. Malaki kasi yung sugat eh.

I: Hindi nila sinasagot? Kayo lang talaga nagbabayad?

P: Hindi. Oo.

I: Nararamdaman niyo po ba na ligtas kayo doon sa baba tuwing nagtatrabaho kayo?

P: Ligtas naman ho eh.

I: Kabilang po ba kayo sa kahit anong organisasyon?

P: Oo.

I: Ano pong organisasyon?

P: SJ (referring to SJ Association) ako eh.

I: Ano po natutulong ng SJ sa trabaho niyo, sa pangangalakal?

P: Minsan nagbubutaw kami ng sampu-sampu.

I: Parang coop ganun?

P: Oo. Tapos pag may naaksidente, kunyari naaksidente ako, pwede ako kumuha ng pera dun.

I: Maliban doon, ano pa po bang mga activities? Mayroon po ba kayong mga ginagawa?

P: Minsan naninita kami ng pasaway, ng mga hindi sumusunod.

I: Meron bang mga babaeng nagtatrabaho diyan?

P: Meron po, marami. Karamihan bata pa po.

I: Mga anong edad?

P: Mga disi-nuwebe (19), disi-otso (18).

I: Ano po yung mga problemang kinakarahap niyo sa pagtatrabaho?


77

P: [silence]

I: Yung bahay niyo po ba malapit sa eskwelahan, sa palengke?

P: Malapit sa palengke.

I: Sa eskwelahan malayo?

P: Malayo.

I: Yung anak niyo po, hinahatid niyo po ba?

P: Hinahatid ko siya dun sa sakayan.

I: So sa health center po, sa barangay hall, malayo po ba o malapit?

P: Malayo din po.

I: Halimbawa po may nagkakasakit, malayo yung health center?

P: Oo, sumasakay pa kami.

I: Meron na po ba kayong naattendang mga programa o kaya projects na gawa ng munisipyo o ng gobyerno?

Mga medical-dental mission?

P: Ay marami na.

I: Galing po ba yun sa mga private organization, o gobyerno, o politiko?

P: Sa mga koreano ata galing yun eh.

I: Sa gobyerno po ba mayroon na po ba kayong natanggap na tulong?

P: Wala po.

I: Sa barangay?

P: Sa barangay meron na. Yung nagbagyo binigyan kami mga bigas, mga lucky me ganun.

I: Eh sa ISWIMS po meron?

P: Meron na rin.

I: Ano po?

P: Ganun din po.

I: Sige po, yun lang po. Salamat po.


78



Type of data collection event: In-depth Interview Duration: 7:35 Interviewer: Ano pong pangalan nila?



P: Bente-dos (22).


P: Meron na.

I: Ilan na po yung anak niyo?

P: Isa pa lang.

I: San po kayo nakatira?

P: Diyan sa may slab.

I: Nagtatrabaho rin po kayo dun sa taas (ng landfill)?

P: Opo.

I: Dito po ba sa tinitirhan niyo dito ligtas naman po ba kayo?

P: Opo.

I: Nakaranas na po ba kayo ng pagbagyo?

P: Marami na. I: Okay naman yung tirahan niyo?

P: [nods yes]

I: Ilan po kayo sa pamilya?

P: Marami kami eh.

I: Ano pong trabaho ng asawa niyo?

P: Wala, sa bahay lang.

I: Yung anak niyo po ilang taon na?

P: Apat (4).


P: [nods no]


79

I: Yung asawa niyo po?

P: Nakapag-aral, hanggang grade 6 lang.

I: Magkano po gastos niyo sa bawat araw?

P: Malaki. Umaabot ng 500 minsan. O kaya 600.

I: San po nanggagaling yung tubig niyo?

P: Sa Nawasa. Mga 300 (kada buwan).

I: Kuryente po?

P: 400 (kada buwan).


P: 300 lang.

I: Nakakapagtabi po ba kayo?

P: Wala, sakto lang sa pagkain namin.

I: Ano po yung kinakalakal niyo?

P: Sari-sari.

I: Gano katagal na po ba kayong nangangalakal?

P: Matagal na, dose (12) pa lang ako nangangalahig na ako eh.

I: Wala na po kayong ibang ginawang trabaho?

P: Marami. Minsan nangongonstraksyon (construction) 'pag walang tapon.

I: Meron pa po ba kayong ibang pinagkakakitaan?

P: Meron din. Minsan naghahanap rin kami ng trabaho na iba.

I: Paano po ba kayo nagsimula sa pangangalakal?

P: Maliit pa (kami) eh (nangangalakal na kami). Halos buong pamilya namin nangangalakal din.

I: Nagkasakit na po ba kayo dahil sa trabaho? Napahamak?

P: Hindi pa naman, puro muntik lang.

I: Nararamdaman niyo po bang ligtas kayo dun sa taas kapag nagtatrabaho kayo?

P: Hindi.


80

I: Kabilang po ba kayo sa kahit anong organisasyon ng mga scavenger?

P: Oo. Simca (referring to Simca Association).

I: Ano pong naitutulong nito sa trabaho niyo?

P: Maganda naman, nakakatulong rin sa pamilya.

I: Nakakatulong pinansyal?

P: Wala naman pinansyal diyan. Kung ano lang pagsisikap mo.

I: Meron din kayong hulugan/koop?

P: [nods yes]

I: Sa araw-araw niyo pong pangangalakal, ano po yung mga problemang kinakaharap niyo?

P: Pag hindi ka nakakakuha (ng maraming kalakal), nakakagutom lang talaga.

I: Itong bahay niyo po ba malapit po ba kayo sa eskwelahan?

P: [nods no]

I: Sa palengke?

P: Diyan lang yung palengke eh.

I: Sa health center?

P: Malayo.

I: Meron na po ba kayong na-attendang programa o kaya project ng barangay o ng munisipyo?

P: Wala po.

I: Mga medical-dental mission?

P: Wala, nung gumuho lang yung tambakan (may dumating na tulong).

I: May natanggap na po ba kayong tulong mula sa barangay o kaya sa munisipyo?

P: Wala pa masyado.

I: Sa ISWIMS?

P: Meron din, mga bigas.

I: Tuwing kelan?

P: Kapag ganyan na walang tapon. Kapag hindi ka botante, hindi ka rin bibigyan. Kailangan botante ka.


81

I: Paano po ba nag-aapply para mangalakal dun sa taas?

P: (Lalapit ka muna) dun sa presidente namin. Tapos bibigyan ka ng papel. Kung ano-anong requirements. Iba-iba rin requirements diyan eh. (Hiningan din kami diyan ng) police clearance eh. May ID ka rin dapat galing sa barangay. Kaya lang ang binabayran namin sa ID isang-daan (100). May bayad din sa t-shirt. Lahat ng gamit namin dun may bayad. Pero kung opisyales ka, wala kang babayaran.

I: Sige po. Salamat kuya.




Interviewer: Ano pong pangalan niyo?


I: Ilang taon na po kayo, nay?

P: Singkwenta-isais(56).

I: May asawa po ba kayo?

P:Oo.

I: Ilan po ang anak niyo?

P: Lima (5). Apat na lalaki, isang babae.

I: Nag-aaral po ba sila?

P: Hindi na sila nakapag-aral dahil sobra naming hirap. Sakitin yung asawa ko, naoperahan sa tubig (sa baga)

tapos nadali sa atay. Ilang taon ko (inalagaan). Syempre taon muna ang bibilangin bago (siya) maka-recover.

Sa konting tulong naman ng mga kapatid ko, kasi maliliit pa sila, natulungan nila kami. Kahit papano,

nakakakain sila.

I: Nagtatrabaho po yung mga anak niyo?

P: Oo. Diyan din (sa landfill). Lahat kami. Pero yung isa kong babae, walang trabaho yun. Hindi ko siya

pinaaakyat doon (sa landfill.)

I: May asawa na po siya?

P: Oo.

I: May apo na po kayo?

P: Oo, apat na apo ko. Isang babae, tatlong lalaki.


82

I: Ilan po kayo sa bahay?

P: Tatlo na lang kami sa bahay.

I: Magkano po yung gastos niyo sa isang araw?

P: Sa isang araw gumagastos kami ng dalawang-daan (200), pinakatipid na yun.

I: Yung sa tubig at kuryente po?

P: Sa kuryenta naman, nagbabayad kami ng dalawang-daan mahigit (200+). Pero hati-hati na kami niyan (dito

sa buong compound). Anim-na-raan (600) ang (total), pinaghahati-hati na namin mag-iina. Sa tubig din

nagbabayad kami, buwanan din.


P: Kung ako lang, mahina ang kita ko kasi may edad na ako. Kumikita lang ako ng dalawang-daan (200).

I: Sapat po ba yun sa pang-araw-araw?

P: Binabadyet na lang para sumapat.

I: Nakakapagtabi naman po ba kayo?

P: Oo, kahit papano nakakapagtabi naman.

I: Ano po yung mga kinakalakal niyo?

P: Yung mga sabog (na sako), PE (plastic).

I: May mga nakukuha po ba kayong mga gamit?

P: Oo, minsan silver, minsan ginto, o kaya pera kung susuwertehin ka. Pero mahirap din yun makuha, kasi

kumbaga may kapalit din yun.

I: Gaano katagal na po kayong nangangalakal?

P: Matagal na.

I: Taga-rito po ba talaga kayo?

P: Hindi, taga-[name of another town in Rizal] kami.

I: Paano po kayo nakarating dito?

P: Nakapunta kami rito nung sinabihan kami ng kapatid (ng mister ko) na pwede daw kami magtayo ng

babuyan (dito). Kaso di naman pala kami pwede magbabuyan kasi [religion] yung katabi namin. Hindi na kami

nakapagsimula.

I: Simula noon pangangalakal na po ang hanapbuhay niyo?


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P: Pangangalakal na talaga.

I: Meron po ba kayong ibang pinagkakakitaan bukod sa pangangalakal?

P: Minsan pumapasok ako na katulong noong medyo bata-bata pa ako.

I: Paano po kayo nagsimula dito (sa pangangalakal)?

P: Nagmeeting-meeting yung mga opisyales naming tapos yung presidente namin na magkaroon kami ng

asosasyon.

I: Dati po ba walang asosasyon?

P: Wala. Dati kaming (under) ng ISWIMS.

I: Nararamdaman niyo po bang ligtas po kayo doon (sa landfill)?

P: Hindi rin. Sapalaran na lang. Pero strikto talaga dila doon, syempre iniingatan din kami. Yung ilang beses na

may namatay diyan - naipit ng bulldozer. Marami nang nangyari sa amin. Binibigyan kami ng limit kung ilang

dipa ang lapit namin (sa paghulog ng basura). Mga apat na dipa o tatlo. Kailangan hindi kami lalapit kaagad sa

truck, kasi minsan natutumba yan. Katulad nung nakaraang buwan, natumba yung truck.

I: Ano po bang itsura doon sa loob? Puro basura lang talaga?

P: Oo. Pero malinis siya na basurahan, hindi siya yung (madumi) talaga na basurahan. Maganda siya, kasi

tinatabunan nila ng lupa (yung basura kada tapon, kada kalahig).

I: Meron po ba sila doong Materials Recovery Facility?

P: Oo. Marami.

I: Ano po bang ginagawa nun?

P: Meron silang pison, bulldozer, tapos may truck sila na pantambak ng basura. Para kapag may bisita kami,

hindi makikita ng bisita na ganun ka-baboy yung basurahan.

I: Sino po yung bumibisita?

P: Marami, galing sa ibang bansa. Tinitignan nila yung basurahan kung maganda ang ayos. Kaya pasado yang

basurahan na yan, kaya hindi nagiging (isyu). Kaya lang, ang pinag-iingatan talaga yung mga tao. Kapag

meron sa 'ming nadisgrasya, may pondo naman kami sa kanila. Tuwing miyerkules, sampu-sampu yan bawat

tao.

I: Sino po nagtatago ng pera?

P: ISWIMS rin. May koop rin kami.


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Type of data collection event: In-depth Interview Duration: 3:13 Interviewer: [Name of participant], ilang taon na po kayo?

Participant: 19.


P: Meron.

I: May anak na po kayo?

P: Meron.


P: Isa pa lang.

I: Ilang taon na po yung anak niyo?

P: 10 months.


P: Dito (sa junkshop).

I: Ligtas po ba kayo dito?

P: Ligtas naman. Hindi naman binabaha dito eh. Doon sa baba (ng bundok), binabaha.

I: Eh mga krimen?

P: Wala naman dito.


P: Tatlo.

I: Yung asawa niyo po, anong trabaho?

P: Scavenger.


P: Oo, grade 6.

I: Yung asawa niyo po?

P: Elementary lang.

I: Ano po yung trabaho niyo ngayon?

P: Sa bahay lang.

I: Magkano po yung pang-araw-araw niyong gastusin?


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P: Isang-daan (100).

I: Yung tubig at kuryente niyo po?

P: Hati rin kami sa bayarin (dito sa compound).

I: Magkano po kada buwan?

P: Depende sa bill.

I: Magkano po yung kinikita ng asawa niyo kada araw?

P: Kapag maganda yung tapon, mga 500.

I: Sapat po ba yun sa mga gastusin niyo?

P: Sapat naman.

I: Nakakapagtabi naman po kayo?

P: [nods in agreement]

I: Kapag po ba magkakaroon kayo ng trabaho, ano gusto niyong trabaho?

P: Tindera lang.

I: Ano po ba naging trabaho niyo dati?

P: Gumagawa ng siomai. Nag-gagawa rin ng barbecue.

I: Dati po nangangalakal kayo... Anong edad po kayo noon?

P: Trese (13).

I: Pwede yung minors doon (sa landfill) noon?

P: Huwag lang malalaman.

I: Ilang taon po kayo nangalakal?

P: Isang taon lang.

I: Kamusta naman yung experience niyo sa pangangalakal?

P: Mahirap. Syempre delikado kapag naatrasan ka ng bulldozer.

I: Marami po ba kayo doon na mga babae?

P: Marami din.

I: Marami ring menor-de-edad?

P: Marami.

I: May na-attendan na po ba kayong programa ng gobyerno, mula sa munisipyo o kaya sa barangay?

P: Wala.

I: Mga medical-dental mission po?


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P: Dito wala pa eh.

I: Eh tulong po mula sa barangay?

P: Wala.

I: Doon po sa ISWIMS?

P: Sila mama lang. Kapag umuulan.

I: Yun lang po. Thank you po.




Interviewer: Ano pong pangalan nila?



P: 43.

I: May asawa na po?

P: Oo.

I: Ilan po anak?

P: Tatlo (3).


P: Dito (sa junkshop).


P: Anim kami sa bahay.

I: Ano pong trabaho niyo?

P: Umaakyat doon (sa landfill).

I: Nag-aaral po ba yung mga anak niyo?

P: Yung dalawa. Grade 1 at Kinder.

I: Malapit po ba yung eskwelahan nila dito?


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P: May elementary diyan (malapit).

I: Ano-ano po at magkano yung gastos niyo sa isang araw?

P: Hindi pare-parehas eh. Mga 150.

I: Sa tubig at kuryente po?

P: Sa kuryente buwanan naman eh.


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integrating rizal provincial landfill’s informal waste

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