Palace grants P110 million to repair Baguio dumpsite

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY October 28 – President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III recently approved the release of P110 million which will be used to rehabilitate the Irisan dumpsite to prevent the further collapse of its retaining wall that will lead to another trashslide in the future which will pose a serious threat to life and limb, especially to those living below the closed dumpsite.

Out of the said amount, P10 million will be utilized to pay the hauling of garbage that were washed down to the villages below the dumpsite while the P100 million will be used to construct a super steel structure that will stabilize the dumpsite’s retaining wall and hold the inert waste from being carried away by water during heavy rains.

Rep. Bernardo M. Vergara cited the approval of the release of the multi-million funds for the repair and rehabilitation of the Irisan dumpsite shows the concern of the Aquino administration in helping the city government address its garbage problem that will put an end to the controversy and will bring back the vibrance of the city’s local tourism industry which had been greatly affected by negative reports about the trash slide.

Vergara, together with Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, had been constantly meeting with the technical working group of the Irisan dumpsite rehabilitation over the past several days to finalize the appropriate design of the super steel structure which will be installed to protect the retaining wall from further collapsing.

Included in the closure plan of the Irisan dumpsite is its conversion into an ecotourist park which will serve as an added tourism destination in the city for visitors to visit and that the same will help boost the city’s tourism industry.

Currently, the Irisan dumpsite is simply being used as a sorting and transfer station for the generated non-biodegradable waste of the city before the same will be hauled out of the city by Pro Tech Machinery Corporation pursuant to its commitment contained in an earlier memorandum of agreement it signed with the local government.

Domogan explained the dumpsite is no longer serving as an open dumpsite after its closure in 2008 and that it is now serving as a transfer station for the non-biodegradable waste while the biodegradable wastes are being fed into the two Environmental Recycling System (ERS) machines that were put in place for their conversion into high grade fertilizer.

With the funding assistance from Malacanang, city officials are confident that the city’s garbage problem will be addressed in due time and that fears among residents living in villages below the dumpsite of a worst case scenario in the future will be prevented since the super steel structure will serve as their protection.

The detailed estimates and programs of work for the rehabilitation and improvement of the Irisan dumpsite will be submitted by the city government to the office of Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson since it will be the public works department which will undertake the project to ensure that the quality of work will be strictly monitored to prevent the occurrence of trashslides caused by the collapse of the dumpsite retaining wall.