Review on landfill contract pushed to cover residual waste

CEBU, Philippines - The contract awarding the P100-million privatization of the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill was returned to the contractor for further review.

Cebu City administrator Francisco Fernandez recently said that the contract supposed to be forged with FDRCON Incorporated was returned to the latter lacking necessary provisions.

Fernandez cited one salient provision that needs to be included which allows the city to deposit all wastes including residual wastes for five years into the landfill.

Residual waste is nonhazardous industrial waste.

It includes waste material (solid, liquid or gas) produced by industrial, mining and agricultural operations. It excludes certain coal mining wastes and wastes from normal farming activities.

 Fernandez said that FDRCON admitted they can’t accept the residual waste unless they are allowed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“What we want is for them to get the permit from DENR first so that in the contract it is already included,” Fernandez said.

Once review of contract is done, it will be submitted back to the City Council.

Last month when the contract was submitted in an ordinance to the Council, councilors asked clarifications on certain provisions in the contract which were not included in the terms of reference before the public bidding.

 The provisions were discovered by Councilors Jose Daluz III and Gerardo Carillo, who asked that all the councilors review the contract and raise their concerns with Councilor Augustus Pe Jr., the landfill’s deputy mayor and one of the authors of the ordinance of the contract.

Daluz questioned a provision which stated that the capacity of the “landfill” be improved through expansions.

He raised concerns about FDRCON’s plan to use a reclaimed area between the dumpsite and the South Road Properties for the company’s commercial activities.

On the other hand, Carillo questioned the provision that gave FDRCON the right of first refusal to purchase at current fair market value of the Inayawan dumpsite or any portion thereof to be developed by FDRCON, its partners and affiliates. — Ferliza C. Contratista/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)