By Jonnie H. Buenaventura

Tacloban City (23 November) -- Mayor "Toti" Balderian of Tabon-Tabon, Leyte's strategy in Solid Waste management became an exemplary model for all participants of the recently conducted 3rd Regional Ecological Center (REC-8) Solid Waste Management (SWM) Summit held at Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on November 18-19, 2009.

The best practice of Local Government Unit (LGU) Tabon-Tabon, Leyte was named best practice on solid waste management in Eastern Visayas, in the 1st search for model LGU's best practice category.

The best practice of the Municipality of Tabon-Tabon, Leyte in diverting wastes into useful products create livelihood opportunities among his constituents is one of the best method of gaining profits out of wastes generated and collected.

Cultured mushroom and sunting soap are one of the by-products initiated by LGU Tabon-Tabon, Leyte thru Mayor Balderian which the demand of such product is too high.

According to Mayor Balderian, sunting soap is used as a treatment of skin diseases which cost Php. 10.00 each.

Mayor Balderian added that sunting is used as herbal medicine and is a shrub that grows in the tropical climate of the Philippines which is visible in his municipality. The leaves contain chrysopanic acid, a fungicide that is used to treat fungal infections, like ringworms and eczema. The Philippine Council Health Research and Development (PCHRD) had helped develop the technology for herbal medicine lotion.

In my municipality we developed sunting into soap and it is known all through out the Philippines for it is tested to have been treated skin disease, Mayor Balderian said.

In a study visit to Tabon-Tabon, Leyte by the participants of the summit in the afternoon of November 19, 2009, Mayor Balderian presented their livelihood project package which composed of bio-reactor, shredder and boiler equipment that process agricultural wastes into organic fertilizer which 70% of the wastes in their area are agricultural wastes. That is why we invented such equipment to solve the problem of agricultural wastes thus make it useful by using it as an organic fertilizer.

The participants also noted the human development initiated by Mayor Balderian who is a physician by profession by giving scholarship to the less-fortunate children but deserving student to 100% free tuition fee on medical courses such as Nursing and BS Biology courses and business courses.

In an interview by this writer to Annaliza April, 46 years old, mother of one of the scholar, said that for her part it is a blessing for she cannot afford to sent her daughter to such reputable school for she is a banana-chips vendor, the meager income is enough for their daily sustenance of their basic necessity.

Mrs. April revealed that they entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Mayor Balderian to render community service in lieu of the tuition fee once a month by way of planting and cleaning the surroundings of the municipality of Tabon-Tabon, Leyte.