Mayors push R-2 landfill project

The Metro Mayors Council passed a resolution yesterday endorsing the interim landfill project of R-II DMCI to Malacañang for approval.

A notice of award was subsequently submitted to Malacañang for the signature of the President after which a contract is expected to be awarded on Monday.

This development comes as officials and residents of Antique organized a rally to be held today against the proposed plan.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Jejomar Binay told reporters yesterday that the MMC decided to approve the proposal after a careful evaluation of R-II DMCI’s presentation. R-II’s project is located in Barangay Tinogpoc of Semirara Island in the Municipality of Caluya, Antique.

The landfill is 20 hectares on an abandoned mine pit of Semirara Coal Corp. now known as DM Consunji Inc. (DMCI). Binay pointed out that the site represents only one percent of the total land area of the island.
For their part, residents and officials of Antique province, through an alliance called the United Antiqueños Against Garbage Dumping in Semirara, is holding a rally at the Evelio Javier Freedom Park in San Jose, Antique today.

Participants in the rally include representatives of the municipality, non-government organizations and concerned residents.

Gideon Javier, a convenor of the group, expressed disgust over the sudden choice of Semirara as the interim landfill site.

Javier pointed out the overwhelming opposition to the project including that from his uncle, incumbent governor, Exequiel Javier.

Andres Fornier, legal counsel of the group, noted that the government was forcing the issue on Antique using underhanded tactics.

Fornier said R-II DMCI has not yet secured a legitimate certificate of willingness from the provincial board for its proposed project.

On top of this, the group said, no public consultations have been conducted by the government.

It also accused the government of deliberately timing the presentation of the project during the holiday season so as to ensure little resistance from concerned officials.

Binay for his part, explained that the short period of time t present the project to the province was due to the unforeseen circumstances which came up during the bidding for a permanent landfill.

For more than two months, the government through the MMDA conducted a bidding for the permanent landfill which was supposed to have been awarded last month.

However, successive temporary restraining orders were issued against the bidding, effectively suspending the entire proceedings.

Binay assured the public that R-II DMCI’s project is environmentally sound and would not pose any problems at all.

He added that the site is physically capable and ready to immediately accept the over 4,000 tons of daily garbage from Metro Manila.