Rizal, Bulacan landfills ‘defective, anomalous’ - group

MANILA, Philippines - Environmentalists on Wednesday protested the proliferation of landfills in Rizal and Bulacan provinces, saying that aside from environmental concerns these facilities also had "irregularities and anomalies." The group zeroed in on the Rizal Sanitary Landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal, and the Wacuman Sanitary Landfill in Norzagaray, Bulacan. "In the guise of solving the waste problem in Metro Manila, officials are now posing to make millions of bucks from construction and operation of defective sanitary landfills," said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of the Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment, an environmental activist group. Bautista said the availability of funds and the lucrative tipping cost of garbage would be "a big incentive to corrupt government officials." Records from the National Solid Waste Management Commission show that there are 16 existing sanitary landfills in the country, while another 19 landfill sites have already been issued environmental compliance certificates and are currently under construction. Landfills will also be constructed in the municipalities of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, in San Mateo, Rizal, and in Ternate, Cavite – all of which are reportedly located in watersheds or forest areas. "As Metro Manila tries to resolve its perennial problem on garbage, more communities and environmentally-critical areas... have been marked as dumping grounds for an estimated 8,000 tons of waste generated daily," Clemente said. He said, however, that the so-called "sanitary landfills" had various flaws and irregularities, which ranged from "technical feasibility, environmental and health safety, to kickbacks and corruption." Bautista cited the case of the P380 million San Mateo Landfill project, which according to Darrow Lucenario, an environmental and sanitary engineer, was "technically flawed" and violated several environmental standards and guidelines. Not only is it said to be overpriced, it is also inside a protected forest area and threatens to pollute and contaminate waters sources there. "We are calling for the total stoppage of the San Mateo landfill project because we know it will definitely affect our health and livelihood in San Mateo," said Tony Balute, a local resident and member of Coalition for Garbage-Free San Mateo. Accoridng to Catholic priest Fr. Anacleto Ignacio, who heads local opposition against the 40-hectare landfill project in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, the Bulacan landfill is near the Water Treatment Plant in San Jose del Monte. "Even with this glaring health risk, the municipal government allowed the construction of this landfill," Ignacio said. "We are saddened by the fact that there are government officials and businessmen who will risk the life of our people and destroy the environment for the sake of profit. We are firm in our stand in opposing these landfills in our area." – JAT, GMANews.TV