The project was funded through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) with a grant of US$52,748 (approximately P2.4 M).
Panabo City is located in the Province of Davao del Norte and has a population of 150,000. It has thrived into an important trading post for agricultural and industrial sectors, and has facilitated smooth business transactions of investors. In recent years, the development and rapid urbanization of the city has led to the influx of workers from its surrounding areas. As a result, Panabo City faces the increase of population, and needs to deal with new challenges in providing basic services for increasing residents. One of these challenges is to establish an effective garbage collection system. Earlier, the city had only two trucks for garbage collection while the whole city generated about 67 tons of garbage every day. The regular garbage collection was conducted only for two major markets in the city, and the collection in residential areas was irregular. Residents had to bear with bad odor from accumulating wastes, and the concern for sanitation had been emerging.
To cope with these circumstances, Panabo City decided to seek assistance from the Embassy of Japan. Under this project, the city was provided with a donation consisting of three garbage compactors from Osaka City in Japan.[]