TALISAY CITY, Cebu. — Residents and ecogroups are alarmed
with the continuous operation of the city’s "sanitary" landfill inside a
watershed area and the risks it pose to the environment and health of the people
of Cebu.
The Talisay City Sanitary Landfill is located in Barangay
Tapul and managed by the local government unit. It has been operational since
2005 even without an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) or any
environmental permit.
The multi-sectoral group EcoWaste Coalition and National
Environmental Action Team of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP-NEAT)
also hit the Talisay City government for violating the Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act or RA 9003 and the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources for its negligence to close down the illegal facility and halt the
toxic contamination.
"The environment and health of the people should be the
priority of our government. It is their mandate to ensure and uphold the rights
of the people to safe drinking water, fertile land and clean air to breathe,"
said lawyer Gloria Ramos, deputy chair of Visayas IBP-NEAT.
The Talisay City Sanitary Landfill, with an estimated area of
more than 2 hectares is adjacent to the Mananga Watershed and located inside the
Central Cebu Protected Landscape, a recently-declared protected area that is
comprised of the five major watersheds of the province.
The dump facility caters mix municipal waste of Talisay City
and the nearby municipality of Minglanilla. The local government is also
planning to accommodate solid waste from other nearby towns.
Residents of Tapul and nearby barangays complain of foul
smell coming from the dump facility and trucks carrying the garbage. Some
residents are forced to stop drinking the water collected from spring wells
adjacent to the landfill, after the water has developed a bad taste and rusty
color after months of the dump’s operation.
"How come our city leaders allow this dirty facility and
continuously put our health at risk? This sanitary landfill did not follow the
law and aggravates the problem by contaminating our groundwater and aquifer,"
said Emman Larita, a resident of Talisay City.
According to the EcoWaste Coalition, landfills produce huge
amounts of toxic leachate and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas that has
a 30 percent higher warming effect compared to carbon dioxide.
"Landfills are nothing but dumpsites under a different name.
It is a toxic facility and supports the same corruption that breeds the
collect-dump solid waste management system," said Rei Panaligan, coordinator of
EcoWaste Coalition.
The ecogroups also declared that landfills should not be
built on critical areas and cite the closure of the San Mateo Landfill in Rizal
province by the Supreme Court.
In its decision in December 13, 2003, the high court
nullified Proclamation 635 of former President Fidel Ramos to use a portion of
Marikina Watershed as a sanitary landfill for Metro Manila. Instead, the court
highlighted RA 9003 which orders the closure of dumps and landfills located
within an aquifer, groundwater reservoir and watershed area.
"The government should stop building landfill projects and
instead channel the funds to strengthen the implementation of ecological solid
waste management in every barangay or village," said Panaligan.
