War against waste wins support in Clark
Thursday, 17 September 2009 15:25
Clark Air Base in Pampanga has always evoked the images of war.

Following the Treaty of Paris and the subsequent American, it was here where the horse-riding teams led by Strotsenburg launch their charge towards Filipino embankments and defenses, reaching as far as the present day San Juan, Metro Manila. Clark also figured prominently as one of the major casualties of Japanese air raids during the Asia Pacific War. With the rise of anti-Japanese resistance, the communities around Clark bloomed with Hukbalahap guerillas. It was also near Clark, in Capas, where Jose Maria Sison and Dante Buscayno started the NPA. During the Vietnam War, supersonic booms from within the wife-fenced base was a daily reminder that Uncle Ho’s minions were fighting the Yanks in the jungles of Indochina. Anti-American rallies at the landmark “Salakot” before Marcos fled also turned into mini wars as both anti- and pro-bases traded filthy barbs (and eventually, stones). When Pinatubo blew up, it was also right in front of the old Fort Strotsenburg parade grounds where Filipino development managers plotted their moves and tactics to win the war against hopelessness among the victims of the eruption.

When the US forces left Clark in 1991 following the Mount Pinatubo Eruption and the abrogation of the RP-US Military Bases Agreement, Clark was a picture of a post-nuclear wasteland – acres upon acres of desolate, ash covered land littered by windowless and doorless pre-fabricated military structures with wrecked roofs due to the weight of Pinatubo’s dust. It was amidst a changing social setting, a time when organic farming was making its inroads while the public began thinking about the scourge that is human refuse. Technology then was adopting to the emerging need while the vast expanse of Clark began shaping up as one of Central Luzon’s economic hubs.

Thirteen months after the Americans left Clark, the 600th Air Base Wing was activated following the deactivation of the Clark Air Base Command in 1991. It was primarily tasked to provide base security, operate and maintain base facilities and provide and other services to Air Force City, a 313.39-hectare military facility within the Clark Special Economic Zone that hosts seven major PAF units including the Headquarters of the 1st Air Division.

With the influx of personnel and activities emerge a new enemy – garbage and human refuse. But with every problem, as any forward looking site manager would claim, is an opportunity to further the cause of the organization. In the case of PAF’s 600th Air Base Wing, the garbage and waste problem is an opportunity to link with various sectors for the advancement of the Zero Waste philosophy of the entire Command.

Tackling the issue head on brought forth several advantages for 600th ABW.

First, by enlisting its personnel’s participation as equity towards creating a healthy environment, it contributed to the morale and welfare of the Clark airmen who benefitted from the program.

Second is the opportunity to link with various groups, both here and abroad.

A one-million peso grant from the Rotary Club of Wakagani, Japan jumpstarted the Wing’s dream of becoming the cleanest, safest and finest AFP base nationwide. The amount was used to purchase a Bioreactor Waste Composting Facility, which converts biodegradable waste matter into pathogen-free and odor-free organic fertilizer that is being supplied to the country’s leading organic farming company.

To keep the bioreactor productive, base residents are now forced to segregate their waste thereby reducing waste matter into an insignificant level. Recyclable materials are being bought by junk dealers, spurring another underground economy in the area. To keep the residents in line with the program, the bike patrols are kept busy looking for malefactors while the Macabalacat municipal garbage truck collects a weekly load of non-biodegradables within the Clark Air Force City. Those who are eager to benefit from the benefits of the bioreactor yet have no time not capability to transport their organic waste to the plant have opted to make their own compost pits in their own backyards for easy disposal of kitchen refuse.

The reputation gained by Clark’s project lured observers and technical personnel from the DOST and the LGUs of Camiguin province in Mindanao. Both showed interest in replicating 600th ABW’s initiative in their own spheres. DOST’s Dr. Myra Tansinco visited last 15 July 2009 and was followed two days later by Dr. Atsusi Sasaki of the Rotary Club of Wakayanagi, Japan who verified the viability of the project. He promised to seek matching grants from other Rotarians for a densifier, a plastic technology machine that transforms ordinary plastic and styro foam into floor tiles and flower pots. Tansinco, meanwhile, promised to make the facility as a show window, noting that the Wing is the first PAF or AFP or Central Luzon government unit to use the bioreactor technology.

600th ABW officials admit that by implementing the program may have built its reputation as an environmentally responsive Wing, the very essence of initiating the project is anchored on its duty to provide services to the community it serve but also to prove that creating an environmentally-friendly community can be achieved if those who have the authority will lead in making things happen. Its just a matter of a closer working relationship between the governed and those who govern, they admit.

With the war against waste, both the PAF 600th ABW and the community are winning small battles. Soon, it will be winning campaigns, and ultimately, the war itself.