THE Court of Appeals (CA) has sustained its decision allowing the construction and operation of a P600-million, 45-hectare engineered sanitary-landfill project in the town of Obando, Bulacan province.
In an 11-page decision penned by Associate Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla, the CA’s Former 10th Division denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Concerned Citizens of Obando seeking the reversal of its decision issued on August 29, 2014.
The CA held that the issues raised by the petitioners in their motion “were already assessed, considered and adjudicated” in its August 29 decision.
The appellate court did not give credence to the claim of the petitioners that it failed to state its reason for its findings that the petition does not involve an environmental damage of such magnitude as required by the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases (RPEC).
The CA also dismissed the argument of the petitioners that the measures—which Ecoshield Development Corp. (EDC), led by businessman Antonio L. Cabangon Chua, will undertake to mitigate the environmental threats posed by the landfill—do not negate the environmental requirements of Section 1, Rule 7 of the RPEC.
“The contending parties presented their respective expert testimonies. In the exercise of its discretion, coupled with the opportunity to evaluate the witnesses’ character and to observe their respective demeanor, this court opted to rely on the testimonies of the EDC’s expert witnesses, who made a comprehensive study of the project and who actually went to the project site,” the CA ruled.
“That these experts were under the employ of EDC does not necessarily warrant the presumption of bias on their parts as witnesses, considering that their statements were duly supported by evidence,” it added.
The CA emphasized that the magnitude requirement under the RPEC does not only relate to the geographic scope, or the number of cities or provinces to be affected, but, more important, to the widespread dimension of the environmental damage brought about by the establishment of the project as to prejudice life, health and property of inhabitants in two or more cities.
However, the CA noted that the petitioners failed to substantiate their allegation of environmental damage of such magnitude to warrant the issuance of a writ of kalikasan.
The CA also did not give weight to the claim of the petitioners that the manner of transporting wastes from Manila to Obando by barge, which would traverse the areas of Manila, Malabon and Navotas and the province of Bulacan, meets the magnitude requirement.
“The alleged consequential damage to the environment on how the wastes will be handled during the transport is dubious and speculative. This is especially so when EDC undertook the construction of special customized barges to securely hold the wastes during transport to prevent spillage,” it explained.
Concurring with the ruling were associate justices Jose Reyes Jr. and Agnes Reyes Carpio.
In its August 29 decision, the CA dismissed the petition filed by Concerned Citizens of Obando seeking the issuance of a writ of kalikasan to stop the project of EDC.
The CA said the sanitary landfill will unlikely cause an adverse effect on the environment and that it is actually suited for its location in Barangay Salambao, off Manila Bay.
The CA also said the operation of a landfill in the area will help the ongoing efforts by various government agencies to clean the Manila Bay.
With regard to the claim of the petitioners that the landfill is not suitable in the area since Obando is flood-prone, the CA said the concern was already addressed by
the structure and design of the
subject landfill.
The CA noted that it was built with four-level engineered perimeter dike and embankments consisted of one perimeter dike with mangrove
vegetation, three-tiered main dikes and a staging area using various grades of geosynthetic materials as structure reinforcement.
It added that the main dike was constructed based on the highest flood-level that has occurred in the area and was made 1 meter higher than the highest flood level.
1 comment
So what if it is a modern engineered landfill? It is still a garbage dumpsite located in a mangrove-protected waterway abutting the Manila Bay. Obando and its adjoining environmentally critical areas should be spared from the potential great disaster that the said landfill is expected to bring about as a result of shortcuts in legal processes resorted to by its proponents.
ALVIN T. CLARIDADES
Catanghalan, Obando, Bulacan