After months of labouring on this material, it finally came out in Newsbreak, now the investigative arm of Rappler.com. This series on Panglao tries to answer one question: Why are there trash no the beaches?
It’s a simple question but the answer, not so. I looked for answers and got numerous positions, all on interlacing issues in the municipality. Simple questions begets complicated answers, especially on a local governance context.
Anyway, I’m proud of this material—its surprisingly came out better than I anticipated. And that lay-out from Rappler really made this series extra special. So, read on:
- where I validated that Panglao has been receiving tourists that were originally headed for Boracay, registering the highest recorded in 10 years.
- where I connected the tourism and waste nexus—easy in Panglao’s case—and establish how waste management plans are underestimating trash volumes from by tourism
- where I discussed the solid waste management system of Panglao and how it is burdened by two types of trash: those accumulated from history and the burgeoning trash of the present
- where I looked at earnings from tourism and how the municipality allocates this, and eventually cutting budgets for waste management
- where I co-related the garbage problem with bigger social issues, particularly how politicians are overlooking violations by businesses for fear of pull-outs
Writing this series was very challenging because of the overwhelming data that the municipality has provided me. But at the end of the day, there’s no choice but to write when deadline looms. I also feel that I’m kinda serendipitous when it comes to writing materials… because all of a sudden, this topic became relevant. I can’t wait to make more special reports in the future! - 11/03/2018
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