WHAT IF cleaning your community could feed your family?

This is the idea behind a proposal from Cebu City Vice Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña, who is eyeing the revival of his signature “Basura Mo, Sardinas Ko” program.

It is a trash-for-food initiative that rewards residents who personally turn over their garbage to collectors with canned sardines or even a kilo of rice.

Originally launched in 2017 during Osmeña’s mayoral term and halted in 2019, the program aims to reduce garbage dumped into the city’s rivers and creeks, streamline waste collection, and improve food access for poor communities.

“We did this in Pardo, where garbage trucks couldn’t reach. The people would bring their trash to the truck and, in return, get sardines,” Osmeña said in an interview.

“It worked well. Some even complained their garbage was being stolen, because people knew it had value,” he added.

Now poised to take office again as vice mayor, Osmeña said he plans to push for the return of the initiative and expand its scope by possibly offering rice as a higher-value exchange.

“Sardinas is only 20 pesos. Bugas is 50 pesos for a kilo. People will give more garbage for rice,” he said. “You try both and see. The important thing is, it solves two problems… garbage collection and hunger.”

Osmeña’s renewed push comes amid persistent flooding and clogged rivers in Cebu City caused by uncollected trash and illegal dumping. He believes the program could help transform waste management from a government burden into a shared community effort.

“Many of our problems can be solved. It just depends on political will, whether officials are willing to make sacrifices,” he said. “You don’t need to close roads. You just need to show people they have a stake.”

The core of the program lies in discipline and timing. Osmeña emphasized that garbage trucks must arrive punctually so residents can meet them and exchange their trash.

“The DPS [Department of Public Services] must be on time. If they’re late, people will stop waiting and go back to their old ways,” he explained.

He added that in cities like Curitiba in Brazil, where he drew inspiration from, residents receive incentives like eggs or vegetables when they turn over their garbage. The program, he said, can evolve based on Cebu’s needs and budget.

Osmeña also floated the use of modern incinerators to replace the city’s reliance on remote landfills, which he called inefficient and costly.

“The trucks take an hour just to get to the landfill and back. That’s wasted time and fuel. I’ve seen incinerators beside malls in Taiwan and Paris. If we use the latest technology, we can do the same,” he said.

While he clarified that the final decisions remain with incoming Mayor Nestor Archival, Osmeña said his role as vice mayor will be to offer alternatives based on experience.

“I’m here to give suggestions, not to dictate. The mayor decides. I just want to share what worked before and what could work again.”

Osmeña also revealed that many city problems, from traffic to garbage, could be addressed with a proper strategy and discipline.

“When I was mayor, I confiscated 6,000 motorcycles that violated traffic rules. I lost the election for it. But I did what I believed was right,” he said.

“Basura Mo, Sardinas Ko” was piloted in Barangays Lahug, Cogon Pardo, and Alaska in Mambaling, particularly in sitios near waterways that were frequent dumping grounds. For every bag of properly delivered garbage, residents received one to two cans of sardines.

The city spent P5 million on the initiative, charged to its social amelioration funds.

A 2019 assessment by DPS found that the program was effective in encouraging residents to clean up their surroundings and reducing illegal dumping in rivers.

However, it was put on hold when Osmeña left office and Mayor Edgardo Labella’s administration took over.(TGP)

• Tags
• #Tomas Osmeña
• #“Basura Mo Sardinas Ko,” Trash-for-food initiative
• #Garbage
• #Rice
• #Department of Public Services