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THE
shutdown of the sanitary landfill in Rodriguez (formerly
Montalban), Rizal, was triggered by political squabble
between the town mayor and the governor and “other
reasons.”
Sources
close to Mayor Pedro Cuerpo of Rodriguez said the
problem started when the contractor of the landfill,
Swims International, had a falling-out with the mayor.
The
source said the contractor then started seeking the
assistance of the Cuerpo’s “political enemies” at the
Rizal capitol.
Taking
advantage of the falling-out and wanting to get even
with Cuerpo, the source said the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan passed a resolution ordering the closure of
the landfill. The resolution was later ordered enforced
by Gov. Casimiro Ynares III.
Another
source said officials of the provincial government want
the nearby 19 hectares of land to be the new site of the landfill and to be operated by Swims
International.
“Pero
walang environment compliance certificate iyon
and therefore, could not yet be used,” another
source told the BusinessMirror.
“Pero
ang bottom line diyan bukod sa pulitika,
‘other issues’,” he added.
The
source said Cuerpo has sought the intervention of
Malacańang.
On
Tuesday the town’s officials and supporters of Cuerpo
barricaded the landfill in protest of the closure order
from the provincial government.
The
Sangguniang Panlalawigan has ordered the closure upon
the recommendation of its safety engineering consultants
who found the area “saturated and used up.”
Ynares
had also notifed the Metropolitan Manila Development
Authority (MMDA).
The
metropolis, with an estimated population of 10 million,
generates some 8,000 tons of garbage daily.
Relatedly, Mayor Jejomar Binay of
Makati
City
said the looming garbage crisis that threatens to bury
Metro Manila in garbage could severely affect public
health and the investment climate.
It
should also serve as a “wake-up call” to the MMDA and
its chairman, Bayani Fernando.
“The
MMDA and its chairman should now set its priorities
straight. This is a serious matter that could affect
public health and, in the case of Makati, the perception
of investors on the capability of the national
government, as represented by the MMDA, to perform a
very basic function,” he said.
Binay
said the looming garbage crisis “is a reflection of the
wrong priorities of the MMDA leadership.”
“We have
not failed to remind Chairman Fernando that he should
find a viable and long-term solution to the garbage
problem of Metro Manila. Instead, the MMDA under
Fernando concerned itself with chasing sidewalk vendors
and jaywalkers and implementing face-lifting
infrastructure projects,” Binay said.
Binay,
who was MMDA chairman during the incumbency of former
President Joseph Estrada, said the MMDA is mandated by
law to provide waste- disposal and management services
for the local governments of Metro Manila.
“This is
the only direct service that the MMDA provides to the
local governments, and on this score alone it has
obviously failed to fulfill its mandate,” he said. |
