RODRIGUEZ, Rizal—While Gov. Eddie Panlilio agrees that his province, Pampanga, is in violation of the solid-waste management law and is now No. 8 among provincial waste generators in the country, he claimed that only mayors and not governors should be sued.

Panlilio said town and city mayors are the ones responsible for the management and collection of solid waste in their localities, and the provincial government should not be blamed for the illegal disposal of garbage.

Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, provides that any citizen can file civil, criminal or administrative actions in court or other bodies against any public officer who willfully and grossly neglects that law.

However, Panlilio said the provincial capitol is willing to help and augment efforts of the towns and cities in proper waste disposal.

He said that on May 21, the provincial government reactivated the provincial solid-waste management ecological board, but no mayor attended its meeting.

Panlilio said during the ecological board meeting that a technical working group tasked to study, monitor and coordinate with the town governments on how to properly manage solid waste was formed.

“We were also given updates by the Environment Management Bureau on the present solid-waste activities of all towns. We have also discussed segregation at source, importance of existing material-recovery facilities, transfer stations and even the idea of putting up a provincial sanitary landfill,” Panlilio said.

Panlilio said he received reports that Floridablanca and Mexico towns are planning to put up sanitary landfills that will take care of the garbage they generate, as well as that of adjacent towns.

He said it is possible for Pampanga to establish a provincial sanitary landfill, and he welcomed the reported proposal of the two towns.

Panlilio and Board Member Ric Yabut of Pampanga’s Fourth District earlier visited the Rizal Provincial Sanitary Landfill and the facilities of the Montalban Methane Power Plant Corporation here to get some pointers in resolving the emerging garbage menace in Pampanga.

Yabut, chairman of provincial board’s environment committee said said provincial officials are now on the process of collating the best practices of existing sanitary landfill so they could address the garbage problem in Pampanga.

“Naghahanap po tayo ng alternatibong pamamaraan upang malunasan ang lumalalang problema sa basura sa Pampanga,”Yabut said.

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Among: Mayors should be sued, not me

RODRIGUEZ, Rizal—While Gov. Eddie Panlilio agrees that his province, Pampanga, is in violation of the solid-waste management law and is now No. 8 among provincial waste generators in the country, he claimed that only mayors and not governors should be sued.