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TRECE MARTIRES
CITY,
CAVITE—Catholic and Protestant churches joined the
different communities in Cavite to oppose the impending
resumption of operation of a pyrolysis waste treatment
in this city.
Different environmental groups have proven that the
facility is an incinerator technology hiding under a
different name, and thus undermines the health of the
surrounding communities and environment.
More
than 500 people trooped to the provincial office of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR),
asking the agency to uphold the incineration ban as
stated by the Clean Air Act, and permanently stop the
operation of the incinerator plant being operated by the
Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) and owned by
the Lina Group of Companies.
The mass
protest was spearheaded by the Catholic Church Diocese
of Imus, United Churches of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP)
in Cavite and the ecogroups Cavite Green Coalition and
EcoWaste Coalition. The protesters also handed a
petition signed by more than 5,000 Caviteños calling for
the permanent closure of the dirty technology waste
facility. Copies of the petition were also handed to the
heads of the provincial and city government.
“The
petition is to send a clear signal to the provincial
leadership that the people of Cavite are displeased with
the noncommittal attitude of the local government toward
the issue. With this petition, we are calling for an end
to the prevarication on this important issue,” Pastor
Noel Roxas of the UCCP-Cavite said in a statement.
For his
part, Fr. Von Arellano of Saint Jude Thaddeus Parish in
Trece Martires said that the local Catholic Church is
concerned that the operation of the incinerator exposes
the surrounding communities to harmful emissions coming
from the waste-treatment facility.
“Poor
communities are often the ones who pay the heaviest
price for ecological deterioration,” said Arellano.
The IWMF
treated medical waste of major hospitals of Metro
Manila. In 2004 the operation of the plant was suspended
by virtue of a cease-and-desist order issued by the DENR
for years of operation without a single
pollution-control device. The operation of the plant was
again suspended in 2005 due to its failure to submit the
results of required emission tests.
In an
independent test commissioned by the International POPs
Elimination Network in 2005, the eggs of free-range
chicken living near the IWMF were found to have levels
of dioxin that exceeded more than three times the limit
set by the European Union (EU). The level of
polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCBs, a highly carcinogenic
chemical, found in the eggs also exceeded the proposed
EU limit.
“Incinerators are known to emit harmful pollutants like
dioxins and furans, which are carcinogenic and are known
to mimic the action of hormones in the human body.
Repeated daily exposures to pollutants emitted by
incinerators, even at low levels, can irreparably harm
the immune system and cause developmental problems in
children,” said Ochie Tolentino of the Cavite Green
Coalition.
Bishop
Luis Antonio Tagle of the Diocese of Imus also expressed
his opposition to the resumption of the said waste
facility and asked Trece Martires Mayor Melencio de
Sagun Jr. to exercise his prerogative as the city head
and deny the permit of IWMF.
Various
environmental advocacy groups that joined the Caviteños
to press for the enforcement of the incineration ban are
the EcoWaste Coalition, Global Alliance for Incinerator
Alternatives, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Health Care
Without Harm, Mother Earth Foundation, November 17
Movement and the Sagip Pasig Movement. |
