BAGUIO CITY - Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said the investigation into the Irisan dump tragedy here at the height of Typhoon Mina would determine the liability of local government officials.
“We are looking into the accountability of local officials since the law holds them primarily responsible for solid waste management in their areas of jurisdiction,” Robredo said in Manila.
He said results of the investigation would be released within the week.
“We are still in the process of investigation and we shall wrap up our probe before the end of the week,” Robredo said during the “Tapatan Roadshow on Full Disclosure Policy for the National Capital Region” held in Marikina City.
The DILG chief said the national government has not been remiss in its duty to remind local chief executives to comply with Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, which mandates the closure of all open and controlled dumps.
Robredo said local government officials in Baguio have claimed that the site has been closed since 2008, but residents and the city government are still throwing garbage at the area.
At the height of typhoon Mina, some 1,500 tons of trash from the garbage site broke loose when the retaining wall of Irisan dumpsite collapsed, killing at least five people.
The incident prompted the Palace to order the closure of the dumpsite with the local government officials deciding to transfer the tons of trash to the Capas dumpsite in Tarlac.
The city council had declared the city in a state of calamity to expedite mitigating measures on the typhoon-triggered trash slide last Aug. 27.
The body set an inquiry on the incident earlier inviting key personalities led by Mayor Mauricio Domogan and Protech Machinery Corp. vice president Luis Lu Jr. to its regular session.
The calamity status was declared upon the request of Domogan to enable the city to utilize the P93 million calamity fund to expedite the clearing of the trash that covered Asin Road and to rehabilitate the collapsed wall that triggered the spill out of 15,000 tons of garbage.
It was however subject to the conditions that the proposed mitigating measures and expected expenses shall be submitted to the city council for approval.
City Environment and Parks management Officer CordeliaLacsamana earlier justified before the body the need for the remedial measures to be carried out immediately to avoid another catastrophe in the area.
“A danger of collapse from the remaining garbage from facility is imminent due to destabilization, covering the crack with tarpaulin and lightening the load by re-profiling should be done immediately,” she told the body.
She said CEPMO will also continuously monitor water intrusions in the dumpsite which they believed caused the retaining wall to give way including the control of odor and leacheates to avoid further contamination of water in the area.
Although the facility has been closed in 2009, it is being used as a controlled dump facility where regulated dumping has been allowed as part of the closure proceedings for the facility which also houses the Environmental Recycling System (ERS) machines the city purchased recently to help solve the garbage woes.
Vice mayor Daniel Farinas agreed that “addressing first the needs of the people affected by the trash slide and the damage it has caused is the main priority of the council.”
City social welfare and development office said the victims will also be given monetary assistance by the city.
Continuous clearing of the washed out garbage is being undertaken by the city’s garbage trucks while other volunteer trucks are helping in hauling out the remaining trash.
At least eight persons were reported dead and two were injured during the onslaught of Typhoon Mina in the city.
The fatalities of the trash slide were identified as Reveller Genesis Tacio Flores (13), ApolinarioTacio Flores (10), Jefonie Leon MaglangaCael (18), FrandoTacio Flores (16), Noemi Cael (20) and their grandmother Antonia Tacio.
Other fatalities reported due to landslides which happened in other parts of the city are FloroCaguaySoliven (32) and Alex DawenMagno (63).
At least 16 landslides, 8 soil erosions, 10 eroded rip-rap walls, 11 fallen trees, 7 floodings and a trash slide were reported.
Domogan appealed to residents to cooperate and to unite in finding solution to avert a repeat of the Irisan dumpsite trash slide.
The mayor said criticisms lodged at his administration over the tragedy were unfortunate saying the focus should not be on fault-finding but on teamwork to expedite remedial measures and avoid occurrence of similar incidents.
The mayor said that he has no choice but face legal action or whatever remedies that the victims of the disaster might resort to because of the incident.
“It’s understandable and it’s their right if they will seek legal action against us and naturally we have to defend ourselves but they should understand that nobody wanted this to happen. My conscience is clear because we did what we thought was best to address our garbage problem including avoiding this unfortunate incident. Let history judge us on how we undertake our duties as city executive,” the mayor said.
He however appealed to the victims to be wary of people who intend to take advantage of their present situation to pursue their ulterior motive as reports have reached him that some people with questionable motives have offered to assist the victims to pursue filing cases against the city government.
He said his priority at present is to undertake the necessary remedial to address the immediate problem at hand which is to clear the waste avalanche and rebuild the retaining wall to prevent further accidents.
He said he is open to an honest-to-goodness investigation of the incident after the immediate concerns have been dealt with.
He said that with the declaration of the city under a calamity state by the city council, the city can now undertake rebuilding and clearing operations.
“We will do what is needed to be done and follow all the recommendations from the National Solid Waste Management Commission, the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources and the city engineer’s office as to the rebuilding of the collapsed wall,” he said.
He said the city will avail of the sanitary landfill facilities from Pangasinan and Tarlac to haul out old waste.
He clarified the city has for some time now not been using the Irisan dumpsite as an open dumping area but merely as staging point for residual wastes in compliance with its present status as controlled dump facility.
The NSWMC in March last year gave the city government the go signal to continue implementing the civil works for the closure and rehabilitation of the Irisan dumpsite and enabled the city to reuse the site strictly as controlled dump facility.
The NSWMC earlier conducted the site assessment survey in 2009 to determine the general conditions of the site and the additional requirements for the continuation of the closure plan.
For the long-term waste solution, the mayor said the city will still pursue an engineered sanitary landfill deal with Benguet province at a site situated between Kias and Philex mines.
He said he has signed an agreement with Benguet province on the ESL project which will be undertaken by a Korean proponent.
He said the Itogon town council was set to deliberate on a resolution adapting said project last week.
He said that apart from the ESL project, another solution would be the strict implementation of the segregation policy in the city which will help maximize the operation of the Environmental Recycling System (ERS) machines and at the same time realize the residual waste hauling out deal with Protech Machinery Corp. where the firm will take charge of these residuals at no cost to the city.
This, as business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan pledged Tuesday to assist the city government in addressing the garbage problem, blamed by many as the root cause of the deadly trash slide in Irisan.
“We need to help Baguio in whatever way we could,” said Pangilinan, CEO of Philex Mining Corp., as he addressed Philex executives as they vouched the proposal to venture on a waste-to-energy project. -- With reports from Aileen P. Refuerzo, Paul Rillorta, Dexter See and Czarina Nicole O. Ong
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