FOR causing pollution in Manila Bay, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) suspended the operation of a garbage transfer station in Tondo, Manila.
In a statement, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said the suspension order was slapped against Philippine Ecological Systems Corp. (Phileco). Cimatu said the order was issued after the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau-National Capital Region (EMB-NCR) office found the firm liable for violating several conditions of the environmental compliance certificate (ECC). The ECC was issued to the firm for its operation of the Vitas Marine Loading Station (VMLS) at Pier 18 in Tondo, Manila.
The poor housekeeping of the company allowed wastes to proliferate and leachate to pollute the waters of Manila Bay, the order said. The SC has a continuing writ of mandamus to various government agencies, including the DENR, to restore the waters of Manila Bay to its pristine state.
“The Phileco incident is just one of the many battles the DENR must squarely address in winning the campaign for Manila Bay under the mantle of the continuing mandamus order of the Supreme Court,” Cimatu said. “It is high time that we strictly enforce the law on solid-waste management no matter who gets hurt, otherwise, we will continue to live in an unhealthy environment to the detriment of public health.”
The statement said Cimatu himself personally inspected VLMS on September 27, two days after the EMB-NCR came out with a notice of adverse findings (NAF) against the facility based on a routine ECC-compliance inspection conducted by the EMB-NCR on August 9.
On October 3 Phileco officers appeared in a technical conference called by the EMB-NCR to give the firm the chance to explain and contest the violations cited in the NAF and pledged to undertake further corrective measures on top of those, which they immediately undertook following the discovery of their violations.
During the technical conference, Phileco executives revealed the company had already backfilled its ponding area. The executives added the firm has also installed liners, drainage pipes and runoff storage tanks at the transfer facility and had already started the water cleanup using two newly purchased trash-collecting boats.
Phileco officials promised they will rehabilitate the facility’s 100-meter seawall, install containment area for waste materials delayed for transfer during inclement weather and install litter fences around the facility within 60 days.
The firm’s operation will remain suspended until it has addressed the problem.
Cimatu said the DENR will strictly monitor Phileco’s compliance with its commitment and ECC conditions.
Phileco’s VMLS functions as a transfer facility for wastes collected in Metro Manila. The waste materials are transported by barge to the 40-hectare Navotas Sanitary Landfill, which is also operated by Phileco.
Meanwhile, EMB-NCR Director Vizminda Osorio has imposed a fine of P150,000 to Phileco for violating certain provisions of its ECC. Osorio said the firm failed to meet the effluent standards for phosphate and total suspended solids as it was discharging untreated wastewater directly into the bay. She added the firm also held the collected waste materials at the Vitas transfer station beyond the mandatory 24-hour limit as per DENR Department Administrative Order 2001-34. Osorio added the company allowed solid wastes in the shoreline as a result of its poor housekeeping practices.
Cimatu said the DENR will do the same with other operators of solid-waste transfer stations and sanitary landfills across the country.
“We will make sure these operators will comply with pertinent policies and regulations on solid-waste management,” he added.
In August the DENR ordered the permanent closure of the Payatas sanitary landfill in Quezon City due to numerous environmental violations and susceptibility to trash slide.
1 comment
too little to late