Ilocos mayor, vice mayor charged over open dump

STO. DOMINGO, Ilocos Sur -- The municipal mayor and his vice mayor of this town have been charged before the Sandiganbayan for allowing the operation of an open dump.

Mayor Amado Tadena and his brother, Vice Mayor Floro Tadena, were charged for violating Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

In a complaint filed on Nov. 29, the Office of the Ombudsman said Floro, who was the mayor from 2004 to 2010, failed to shut down the dump in Barangay Sto. Tomas.

Instead of issuing a closure order, the ombudsman said Floro allowed hospital waste to be dumped in the area.

Anti-graft probers said that when Amado was elected mayor in 2010, he allowed the disposal of hospital waste to continue.

Bail for each of the accused was set at P6,000.

The Tadenas were re-elected in the May elections.

Section 48 of RA 9003 prohibits the establishment and operation of an open dump in any municipality.

The same law mandates local government units to convert open dumps to controlled dumps.

Early this year, the ombudsman intensified its drive against public officials violating environmental laws.

In March, the anti-graft agency ordered over a hundred mayors nationwide to explain the existence of open dump in their jurisdictions.