DILG: Low earning LGUs can have common landfill

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Interior and Local Government has advised local government units with less revenue collections to “unite” and create a common landfill so they can comply with the requirements of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

DILG-7 legal officer Danilo Almendras yesterday warned that LGUs that still do not have their own landfills may face charges if the Integrated Bar of the Philippines makes true its threat to press charges against chief executive who ignore Republic Act 9003.

In last week’s two-day seminar for new mayors in Central Visayas, the mayors explained it is difficult for them to establish a sanitary landfill individually because of meager resources.

But DILG said the dilemma can be addressed if two or three LGUs will pour in their resources and create a common landfill.

The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act requires every local government unit to have its own sanitary landfill, but many LGUs across the country still fail to follow the law.

Environmentalists have since argued that dumpsites are very harmful to both human health and the environment because food waste buried beneath the dumpsites decomposes easily for lack of contact with the sun or air and contributes to the creation of lechate, which contains a number of harmful ingredients.

Under the law, a landfill should not be located in areas with high groundwater tables. Lechate migration control standards must be followed in the design, construction, and operation of landfills during the use of the facility and during the postclosure period.

Lawyer Antonio Oposa, head of the IBP’s environmental department, has threatened to file criminal charges against heads of local government units who continue to ignore the provisions of the law.   (FREEMAN NEWS)