Court okays compromise over use of city dumpsite

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY - The Court of Appeals has approved the compromise agreement for the settlement of the Writ of Kalikasan case against the city government and city officials over the use of the Irisan dumpsite.

In an order promulgated August 10, the court granted the joint motion for rendition of consent decree filed by the parties on June 18 and approved the terms and conditions set therein. 

A consent decree is equivalent to a judgment based on compromise in a regular case.

“Finding the terms and conditions embodied in the amicable settlement submitted by the parties to be n accordance with law, morals, public order and public policy, and in order to protect the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology, the Joint Motion for Rendition of Consent Decree is hereby granted and the terms and conditions therein embodied, mutually agreed upon by the parties, approved,” the court noted in the 13-page order.

The approved terms cover the “grant of the privilege of the Writ of Kalikasan” in effect dissolving the Temporary Environmental Protection Order (TEPO) issued by the Supreme Court last January 17 and issuing in its place a Writ of Continuing Mandamus which directs the permanent closure of the dumpsite.

“The City Government of Baguio, the respondents and all those who may hereafter succeed them shall heretofore cease and desist from utilizing the same as an open or controlled dumpsite, or as a holding and/or staging area and/or for any kind of garbage-related activity,” the decree notes.

The decree also mandates the immediate implementation of the city’s plan to convert the area into an eco-park, establishment of a waste disposal system in another location.

The city government will be allowed to implement a rehabilitation plan at the site within 20 months, transfer and manage its plant nursery at the area and temporarily maintain a motorpool for its empty garbage trucks at the space immediately fronting the entrance to the site.

The decree also directs the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other concerned government entities to monitor the compliance of the parties to the terms of the agreement and to submit monitoring report within three months from the issuance of the consent decree and every six months hence.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan welcomed the settlement saying the terms are consistent with the city’s goal to totally close the dumpsite and convert it into a park.  The establishment of an effective and permanent waste management system is also a priority of the city government, the mayor said.

The Court of Appeals order was penned by Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario.

The petition for the Writ of Kalikasan was filed on Dec. 15, 2011 by several petitioners led by Benguet Rep. Ronald Cosalan.