Itogon folk nix dumping site for Baguio garbage

By Dexter A. See

ITOGON, Benguet — Officials and residents of Barangay Gumatdang here are opposing a plan to construct a multimillion-peso sanitary landfill in their area, fearing the allegedly great negative impact on the environment and the manipulation done by some people to conceal the project.

In a resolution, the Gumatdang barangay council aired opposition to the proposal to establish a sanitary landfill in the area, saying that the project came as a surprise to the people in the barangay.

The council said most of their constituents were not aware of any detail relative to the plan to set up sanitary landfill facility at Sitio Besil because they were not informed of the project which is expected to solve the solid-waste problem of the municipality and Baguio City.

Barangay officials said they came to know about the project only when one of them saw an invitation to bid for the project posted at the municipal hall.

Because of this, they believe that there is a grand design to conceal the project from the residents for unknown reason.

The consultation with thousands of residents and former barangay officials showed there was no information dissemination conducted regarding the implementation of the project in the barangay.

At the same time, former barangay officials said they had never issued any document endorsing the construction of the solid waste facility because of its expected negative impact on the environment and hazards on the health of the residents.

While recognizing the need for local government units to establish their own sanitary landfills, the council said that the affected residents should be consulted so that all issues and concerns are properly addressed by the proponent. Before it is implemented, the project should be endorsed by the affected communities.

Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological solid Waste Management Act requires all local government units nationwide to close the operation of their open dumpsites and convert these facilities into sanitary landfills for better environmental management.

At present, Baguio City is looking for a sanitary landfill site within Itogon and Tuba in compliance with provisions of the law.

If they fail to comply with the law, the local officials could be charged administratively.
The 5.2-hectare Irisan open dumpsite of the city has already been closed, causing a garbage crisis in the city in the past several months.

The situation was aggravated by the continuous failure of the residents to abide by the "no segregation, no collection policy."