Garbage crisis

Once again, the stability of the country’s business rules, which is crucial to attracting investors, is being questioned after the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) changed their minds about the use of a 100-hectare property that they administer.

Residents, businesses as well as industries in Central Luzon, the Ilocos region, and the Cordillera Administrative Region are now worried about an impending major garbage crisis after the BCDA and the CDC have revealed that they are pushing through with the impending closure of the Kalangitan sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac.

The facility is said to be the country’s first and most advanced engineered sanitary landfill, the largest in the three regions. It is considered an integral part of the waste management of local government units in these areas.

Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. (MCWMC) is the builder and operator of this landfill, which services nearly all households, business establishments such as malls and hospitals, and industries operating in Central Luzon, including those in Subic and Clark. More than 4,000 tons of waste are brought to this landfill daily from 121 municipalities in eight provinces, namely Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Zambales, Bataan and Benguet.

According to the BCDA and CDC, MCWMC’s 25-year contract to operate the Kalangitan landfill expires in October, and no extension or renewal will be granted. This, despite the strategic role that the facility plays and the severe waste management crisis in three regions in Luzon affecting millions of people that is expected to happen.

MCWMC maintains that their lease agreement with CDC for the 100-hectare site is valid until 2049.

Company executive vice president Vicky Gaston has explained that their contract with CDC has two components: the service contract, which pertains to MCWMC’s exclusive right to provide waste management services to locators inside the Clark Special Economic Zone and the lease contract which grants the firm the right to use the 100-hectare property for an integrated waste management center.

She said that it is only the exclusivity clause that is expiring in October, but the lease is not since, pursuant to the Investors’ Lease Act, MCWMC is granted a lease period not exceeding 50 years, renewable once for another 25 years.

To clarify the issue, the company filed a case before the Angeles City Regional Trial Court last June for reformation of the instrument so that the contract can accurately reflect the intention of the parties and so that the court can determine the correct period for the lease.

BCDA and CDC have proposed a plan to convert this landfill into a tourism-oriented development project.

Without the Kalangitan sanitary landfill, the more than 4,000 tons of waste daily will have to be brought to another landfill in Floridablanca, which will be more costly and less efficient for the LGUs concerned, not to mention that this alternative landfill still does not have the necessary government permits.

Environmental officers from 121 LGUs have already raised their concern over the impending closure through a petition sent to Environment Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Gonzaga. They said that the facility is the only landfill in the region that meets the environmental standards set by the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

These LGUs have also expressed concern that the closure would pose environmental and public health risks to millions of residents in their regions. They asked the DENR’s immediate intervention to maintain the landfill’s operations pending sustainable and long-term solutions.

Is a tourism-oriented development project really more important than the health and welfare of the people?

Well-deserved award

Congratulations are in order for DivinaLaw managing partner and UST Faculty of Civil Law Dean Atty. Nilo Divina whose excellence in law and leadership is being recognized in this year’s Stevie 2024 International Business Awards.

The Stevie Awards are the world’s premier business awards established to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide. The 2024 IBA Banquet will be held in October in Istanbul.

Divina is being conferred the Gold Award for Achievement in Web Writing/Content for his “A Dose of Law” column in Daily Tribune which has published 656 articles since it started in June 2018, garnering over three million page views and having a Spotify podcast and TikTok series.

Award judges praised Divina’s content for democratizing legal knowledge by covering various areas of law in his biweekly column, adding that his writings proved his profoundness in refining complex legal concepts into accessible language, crafting well-structured, informative content that resonates with both legal professionals and the general public.

Master entrepreneur

Another multi-awarded personality is DDB Group of Companies chairman and CEO Gil Chua who was recently honored as a Master Entrepreneur by the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards Regional Edition.

This recognition is given to entrepreneurs who have demonstrated entrepreneurial attributes that serve as role models for emerging entrepreneurs, including the tenacity and perseverance to continue innovating. Chua joined past winners, including Jollibee’s Tony Tan Caktiong, SM’s Henry Sy, Double Dragon’s Injap Sia, Megaworld’s Andrew Tan and Mercury Drug’s Vivien Que-Azcona.

The FEU community, through its Alumni Relations Office, has congratulated Chua, who graduated in 2002 with a degree in BS Commerce major in economics.

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