Criminal and administrative charges await erring local officials who continue to operate open dumps and controlled dump facilities, which are prohibited under Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, the country’s top environment official warned.
Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said local government units (LGUs), as the national government’s partners in environmental management, have specific tasks and mandates under various environmental laws.
“However, LGU officials who violate our laws must be responsible for their actions. They will be made accountable for their crimes, including incompetence to implement RA 9003, which has been in effect for 17 years now,” Cimatu said.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) chief said that, in implementing RA 9003 “as much as possible, the filing of criminal charges against LGU officials would be the last thing on his mind.”
He added the DENR continues to work with the LGUs in resolving problems in waste management.
“At the end of the day, government agencies must work together to be able to properly implement the law,” Cimatu said.
The DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) is currently conducting workshops for Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Offices (Penros) and Community Environment and Natural Resources Offices (Cenros) across the country to equip them in providing technical assistance in preclosure assessment and preparation of closure plans for dumping facilities by LGUs.
“These technical workshops will further empower local environment officers to assist LGUs in the implementation of RA 9003,” said Executive Director Eligio Ildefonso of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC).
According to Ildefonso, the DENR-EMB will continue to perform its mandate to help local governments in the proper closure of existing open dumpsites, pursuant to DENR Administrative Order 9, series of 2006 (DAO 9-2006).
Ildefonso said the NSWMC recently sent a team of experts to conduct technical workshops to local environment officers in Regions 1, 2, 4A, 4B, 5, 6, 7 and the Cordillera Administrative Region. The NSWMC will conduct the same workshops in other regions soon.
Under DAO 9-2006, the regional offices of the DENR and EMB are tasked to guide LGUs in the formulation of closure plan and other related activities, while the Penros and Cenros would provide technical assistance to the LGUs in their preparation of closure and rehabilitation plans.
The EMB Regional Office, with assistance from the Penro/Cenro, is tasked to monitor and update the existing database on open dumpsites and as appropriate, endorse for the elevation of cases to the Environmental Ombudsman against noncomplying LGUs.
Cenros are mandated to conduct regular inspection and monitoring of the dumpsite during the actual closure activities and, thereafter, ensure that the site is not utilized as an open dump.
Cases where the closed site is reused as an open dump/controlled dump will be reported to the concerned DENR regional executive director and EMB regional director for the imposition of appropriate sanctions in accordance with RA 9003 and other applicable rules and regulations.
In August the DENR ordered the permanent closure of the Payatas sanitary landfill in Quezon City due to serious environmental violations and susceptibility to trash slide.
Meanwhile, the DENR recently donated several units of shredding equipment and provided technical assistance on effective solid-waste management practices to various LGUs in the Bicol region.
“The role of the DENR is to assist the LGUs in their challenges on implementing RA 9003,” Cimatu, who led the turn over of the shredding equipment explained as he advised LGUs to employ disposal methods allowed under RA 9003.
The recipients of the shredders were the municipalities of Oas and Manito in Albay province; Barcelona, Magallanes and Matnog in Sorsogon; Pio V. Corpus in Masbate; and San Andres in Catanduanes.
Other municipalities granted with shedders to process generated biodegradable waste in their respective public markets were Bulan in Sorsogon; Virac and San Andres in Catanduanes; San Fernando in Masbate; Ocampo and Tigaon in Camarines Sur; Camalig and Oas in Albay; and Jose Panganiban and Daet in Camarines Norte.
“We are giving them the necessary equipment and technical assistance to strengthen their compliance to the said law,”Cimatu said.
He urged LGUs to form a cluster and pool resources together to establish a sanitary landfill, noting that a single LGU is not financially capable of establishing such a facility alone.
He also said the Development Bank of the Philippines is open to extend its loan services to LGUs for the establishment of sanitary landfills.
Cimatu added the solid-waste shredder is a good addition to the equipment being used in materials-recovery facilities (MRFs) of LGUs.
The MRF serves as a temporary storage area for recyclables before being sold to junk dealers, storage for special waste prior to treatment, processing area for biodegradable wastes for composting and storage of residual wastes prior to disposal.