Gov. Yap clarifies stand on landfill

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — Tarlac Gov. Jose Yap Sr. clarified yesterday that he has not yet decided on whether to support the 100-hectare landfill which the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) plans to put up in Capas town.

Yap said his decision rests on the results of public hearings which the provincial board is holding starting tomorrow.

He said he has yet to be briefed on the safety and benefits of the proposed 100-hectare landfill which the CDC has contracted the German consortium Birkhahn and Nolte-Heers and Brockstedt to develop in Barangay Kalangitan in Capas.

"I don’t want to preempt the provincial board," Yap said.

He said he will merely observe and not take part in the public hearings.

Yap lamented though the presence of open dumpsites in various parts of Tarlac. "Even the Tarlac River has become an open dumpsite," he said.

Yap said non-governmental organizations and church groups issued with a resolution last year, asking President Arroyo to revoke the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) which the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had granted the landfill project.

"I signed the resolution and it’s now up to the President to act on it," he said. "If the President ignores it, so be it. The landfill project seems to have fulfilled the legal requirements."

The CDC, in a press statement, said Central Luzon leaders have expressed support for the landfill project. But its president and chief executive officer, Emmanuel Angeles, clarified that the statement did not pass through his office for approval.

"Hindi naman ganoon yon (It’s not like that)," said Ben Gonzales, Tarlac information officer, referring to Yap’s supposed support for the proposed landfill.

Gonzales said Yap maintains that a thorough study on the project’s "legal ramifications" must first be done.

Besides, the governor’s position, he reiterated, will depend on the outcome of the dialogues. "If the will of the people is no to landfill, the governor will respect that," he added.

In Capas, Mayor Rey Catacutan was visibly mad at the CDC’s insistence to proceed with the project.

"By all means, we will stop this environmentally destructive project," he said. "We will set up barricades to prevent its construction." — With Benjie Villa