“We do not have a waste problem — we have a resource problem. The moment a barangay sees its scraps as livelihood, everything changes.”
— Ma. Emma Azcaragga Ramas
A career built on the ground, in service of the city
Ma. Emma Azcaragga Ramas is best known in Cebu City for her work in local environmental governance and solid waste management — a record of public service that now anchors the vision behind Circula.
Public Service Officer IV
Department of Public Services (DPS), Cebu CityBefore taking on broader leadership mandates, Ramas served as Public Service Officer IV under the Department of Public Services (DPS) in Cebu City — building her foundation in frontline public service and municipal operations.
Overseer of Solid Waste Operations
DPS & CENRO — Appointed August 2023In August 2023, former Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama issued a directive appointing Ramas to oversee the city’s overall solid waste management. This role encompassed leading initiatives across both the Department of Public Services (DPS) and the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).
Executive Director / Head
Cebu City Solid Waste Management Board (CCSWMB)She served as the Executive Director/Head of the CCSWMB. In this capacity, her work focused on enforcing the long-overdue 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan, establishing waste-segregation policies (“No Segregation, No Collection”), eliminating garbage hotspots, and promoting household and community-level composting and recycling initiatives.
Educational & Civic Campaigns
Public information drives & scholar trainingShe spearheaded large-scale public information drives and partnered with local scholarship programs to train thousands of college scholars in solid waste management principles, empowering them to serve as community advocates across Cebu City.
Hands-on, on the ground, in the community
A daughter of Cebu City, Ma. Emma’s commitment to the environment grew from years of working alongside barangay communities — not from behind a desk, but on the ground, jug of compost in hand, teaching neighbors how to turn yesterday’s scraps into tomorrow’s harvest.
That same hands-on spirit now drives Circula: a program built so that women, not waste, define the future of their communities. Her leadership bridges the gap between city hall policy and the household compost pile — proof that real environmental change is made one barangay at a time.
A leader in the community and the ceremony
From barangay demonstrations to city hall turnovers — the work that shaped Circula.
