Court shuts down Baguio’s Irisan dump, site of fatal trash slide

The Court of Appeals has ordered the Baguio City government to permanently close its Irisan dumpsite following a catastrophic trash slide that claimed the lives of five people last year. In a 13-page ruling penned by Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario, the CA’s Former Special Sixth Division approved the joint motion for rendition of a “consent decree” submitted by petitioner Benguet Rep. Ronald Cosalan and other concerned residents and by respondents Mayor Mauricio Domogan and the city council led by Vice Mayor Daniel Fariñas. Other respondents named in the suit are the City Solid Waste Management Board, which is also chaired by Domogan; the City Environment and Parks Management Office, represented by Cordelia Lacsamana; and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Signed by both parties, the decree formally informs the CA that they have agreed to settle the case amicably, with the respondents not opposing the writ of kalikasan issued by the Supreme Court in January. The temporary protection order issued by the SC is now deemed annulled, with a writ of continuing mandamus issued by the CA in its stead. A writ of mandamus is an order issued by a higher court compelling a lower court to perform a certain duty that is deemed by the higher court to be mandatory. In the writ, the Court said that it found the terms and conditions embodied in the amicable settlement “in accordance with law, morals, public order and public policy and in order to protect the right of the people to a balance and healthful ecology.” The CA directed the Baguio City government to permanently cease operation of the dumpsite, and local officials to comply with the local government’s announced plan to convert the dumpsite into an eco-park. “That the City of Baguio, its officials, and all those who may hereafter succeed them shall abide by the local government's declaration of closure of the facility and thereafter, implement and establish at the soonest possible time, a waste disposal system at a remote location which shall not be where the closed Irisan facility is situated... and, in the interim, adopt all measures that shall ensure a clean, sanitary and safe environment to the resident of the areas affected and its environs," the CA ruled. The city government was also ordered to report on the progress of its compliance with the decree within six months, and for every six months afterwards until the court’s judgment is fully implemented. The DENR and other concerned government entities were also ordered to monitor the respondents’ compliance with the consent decree, and to submit a report within three months. Associate Justices Rosmari Carandang and Japar Dimaampao concurred with the ruling. The fatal Irisan “trash slide” occurred in August 2011, when Typhoon Mina (international name: Nanmadol) flooded the dumpsite and caused a retaining wall to collapse, sending an avalanche of trash down on the community below. The trash also reached the nearby Kagaling River, contaminating waterway systems in neighboring provinces. — BM, GMA News