CESET Faces Charges for Disrupting Classes

The head of the Cebu City Environmental Sanitation Enforcement Team (CESET) is now facing an investigation after seven public school teachers complained against her for entering their respective classrooms and issued them citation tickets for failure to segregate their biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes.

CESET head Grace Luardo said she was threatened by Atty. Johnson Hontanozas of the City Legal Office that she will be suspended because of the complaint of the public school teachers.

The complainants Norberta Manguilimotan, Diana Balangkig, Mario Marzan, Juvelyn Tedlos, Francris Santos, Leozelle Jade Añora and Geraldine Montebon, all of Regino Mercado Elementary School questioned the way how the CESET members interrupted their classes.

According to the teachers that they were surprised to see the CESET members entering their respective classrooms and “interrupted our classes and delayed our main task of teaching the children.”

In a letter they sent to Mayor Michael Rama, the concerned teachers explained that their classrooms are equipped with three garbage cans properly labeled as biodegradable, non-biodegradable and residual.

But the teachers admitted that there were children who still throw their waste improperly, which the teacher cannot monitor them at all time. The teachers told the CESET members that they will make final segregation during the end of their classes.

“Is it worthy that the CESET personnel will issue us citation tickets with a fine of P500? Our garbage at that time was still inside our classrooms and it is scheduled to be disposed after our classes,” the teachers told the mayor.

Luardo explained that she was ordered by the mayor to strictly implement the provisions of the provisions of City Ordinance 1361 or the city’s Anti-Littering Ordinance, City Ordinance 2031 that provides the proper segregation of garbage from its source.

“Sa wa pa mo-inspection ang akong mga sakop sa mga classrooms, nananghid sila daan sa principal ug gitugotan sila nga moadto sa mga classrooms,” said Luardo in her answer to the City Legal Office.

“Being an environmental enforcer it is also a risk in our part fighting for the good of our city for we are always being hated by some of the violators. Pero kun masuspenso ko niini, dili kini makapaluya nako sa pagtrabaho, motrabaho gihapon ko para sa kaayohan sa siyudad,” said Luardo.