The signing of the Tripartite Agreement for Apalit Septage Management was successfully held at the Office of the Mayor in the Municipal Hall of Apalit last June 26, 2018.
Partaking in this momentous Agreement were Mayor Pedro C. Nocum representing the Municipality of Apalit, Mr. Epitacio C. Soliman, Jr. representing Soliman E.C. Septic Tank Disposal, and Ms. Cristina Isabelle P. Alejandro representing Crystal Liquid Philippines, Inc. (CLPI).
Witnesses to the occasion were AM Jun Sangalang, BM Jo Castro and OS Jun of the Balibago Waterworks Systems, Inc.
The Tripartite Memorandum of Agreement for Sewage and Septage Management for the Municipality of Apalit is in compliance with the Municipal Ordinance No. 03, Series of 2016-2019 entitled “An Ordinance Establishing a Proper Sewage Treatment and Septage Management System in the Municipality of Apalit, Prescribing Penalties for Violation Thereof and For Other Purposes.
The Municipality of Apalit holds the right and responsibility for the agreement’s implementation. However, due to its limited resources and technical expertise, the necessary funds were not secured.
The entry of Soliman and CLPI, with their financial muscle and resources, gave the wherewithal to implement the ordinance.
Soliman was given the responsibility to desludge the septic tanks, load them into vacuum sealed tankers after which they are unloaded in a septage treatment facility located in Barangay Eden, Mexico, Pampanga (it should be noted that the current treatment discharge capacity of its septage treatment facility is five hundred [500] cubic meters per day).
It is of note though that the coverage of this agreement is limited only to the water subscribers of the CLPI and therefore, the CLPI has the responsibility for the billing and collection of all fees under this Agreement. Under the Agreement, there will be a creation of a Sewage and Septage Management Committee (SSMC) which will implement information dissemination and conduct public hearings on this Agreement and incorporate concerns of subscribers if applicable. It will also receive and hear complaints from subscribers regarding matters related to this Agreement and any other concerns related to sewage and septage. It will serve notices of non-conformance to subscribers, if a septic tank is not present or it is inaccessible for desludging.
The cycle of desludging per subscriber classification shall be held every five (5) years for residential customers and every three (3) years for all government, commercial and industrial consumers.