Cuerpo sweetens pot for MMDA

RODRIGUEZ Mayor Pedro Cuerpo again enticed the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority yesterday to take advantage of discounted rates he is offering for the use of the Montalban Solid Waste Disposal Facility, saying the savings could be used to solve the squatting and flooding problem in Metro Manila.

"The savings that can be generated by the MMDA if it accepts the discount offer for the use of the sanitary landfill in my town are more than enough to amortize the cost of low-cost housing and the resettlement of squatters in Metro Manila," Cuerpo said.

He has been offering a 40 percent discount in tipping fees to get the MMDA to use the 14-hectare MSWDF which was closed by the Rizal provincial government last November, allegedly because it is already full, and replaced by a privately-owned 19-hectare landfill. Cuerpo, who has been at odds with the administration of Rizal Gov. Casimiro Ynares III over his town's two sanitary landfills, insists the MSWDF is not yet full and can absorb 4,000 metric tons of garbage.

He said if the MMDA uses the MSWDF, it can save P700 million yearly, enough to amortize the payment of a 25-year housing financing loan package worth P12 billion which could finance the construction of more than 50,000 house-and-lot units.

"MMDA need only enter into a contract with this LGU for the use of the MSWDF and it will instantly generate the necessary funding in order to clear all esteros, canals and waterways in Metro Manila of squatters, in the process provide decent housing for all of them and at the same time prevent flooding in the metropolis.

Cuerpo also offered a 1,000-hectare area in Rodriguez which the MMDA, National Housing Authority and the local government could tap to resettle the squatters. He said his town could readily provide such a resettlement site because it is the largest municipality in Rizal.

Rodriguez measures 37,000 hectares, double the size of Quezon City (17,000 hectares) which is the largest city in Metro Manila.