Binay vows to turn MMDA compound into dumpsite if…

Chairman Bayani Fernando may soon find the compound of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on EDSA Makati stinking with tons of trash. That is if combative Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay would make good his threat to dump at the MMDA's backyard some 2,500 cubic meters of daily waste produced by Makati should the agency fail to get an alternative dumpsite for the recently closed sanitary landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal. Binay said Thursday he would order Makati’s garbage contractor to dump all the garbage at the MMDA’s compound. “Pag wala na talagang tatanggap sa basura naming, ipapatapon ko na lang sa harap mismo ng MMDA. Wala na kaming mapagtapunan eh (If we could no longer find a place to dispose off our garbage, I will just have it dumped right in front of the MMDA)," Binay said. The MMDA’s building is located at the corner of EDSA and Orense Street in Barangay (village) Guadalupe Nuevo in Makati. Binay blasted Fernando for the latter’s alleged setting of “wrong priorities" that led to a garbage crisis in Metro Manila. He said the city government would not just sit and condone Fernando’s lack of initiative to find an alternative dumpsite to accommodate Metro Manila’s more than 8,000 metric tons of waste produced by household, several factories and other companies in the metropolis. Makati produces an average of 2,500 cubic meters of garbage everyday that is enough to fill 120 dump trucks. Binay said the dumping of Makati’s garbage daily in front of the MMDA building would symbolize the local government unit’s growing concern over Fernando’s “wrong priorities." “Providing us a place to dump our garbage is the only service we have been getting from the MMDA. This despite our huge contributions to its financial coffers," Binay said. Binay said Makati alone contributes P300 million annually to the MMDA’s budget. He said that local government units in Metro Manila remit five percent of its Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) to the MMDA as required under the law that created the MMDA. “At present, Makati temporarily transport its garbage to San Pedro, Laguna, while talks with Navotas Mayor Tobby Tiangco for the use of Navotas offshore landfill are still ongoing," Binay said. Danilo Villas, president of the Association of Metro Manila Environment Offices (AMMEAO) and head of Makati City’s Department of Environmental Services (DES), said Metro Manila will be buried with garbage should MMDA continue to fail to provide an alternative dumpsite within the next few days. Villas said a garbage crisis is “imminent" in Metro Manila due Fernando’s failure to prioritize the need for an alternative dumpsite to accommodate Metro Manila’s garbage following the closure of the sanitary landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal. Villas said the Makati City government has been unable to collect garbage for the past few days following the closure of the sanitary landfill in Rodriquez. “Unless the MMDA comes up with an alternative site immediately, the country’s financial center may end up being flooded with uncollected trash" Villas said. - GMANews.TV