Hospital wastes dumped in resettlement areas

MAGALANG, Pampanga – It’s a dumpsite that could repel even scavengers.

This town’s mayor Pastor Guiao ordered yesterday an investigation into the dumping of Metro Manila’s hospital wastes, at times reportedly yielding dismembered parts of the body, in a three-hectare privately owned land at the boundary of Sta. Lucia resettlement here and Madapdap resettlement in Mabalacat.

Guiao ordered the investigation after he and his men caught one of the trucks owned by one Edgar Gallardo, while on its way to dump more hospital wastes into a three-hectare property last Saturday, even as about a thousand residents of the two resettlements signed a petition against the dumpsite that produces stench permeating their homes.

In their petition, the residents expressed fears that the dumpsite could be a source of fatal diseases, including the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in their communities. They also identified Gallardo as the owner of the truck (TPK 743), which was one of the vehicles regularly transporting alleged hospital wastes from Bicutan, Rizal.

A few scavengers who have dared to brave the unusual stench from the dumpsite reported having seen dismembered body parts, syringes, and other hospital wastes in the area. The residents also said in their petition that the three-hectare site is owned by one Dan Ramos and that the dumping has been going on for one year now, despite lack of any permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

"Trucks dump wastes there two times during night time," said a resident.

Guiao impounded Gallardo’s dump truck and asked his lawyers to prepare appropriate charges against the owners of both the truck and the dumpsite.

Winston Yalung, one of the leaders opposing the dumpsite, said that the hospital wastes used to be dumped in Barangay Parayalunan in Mabalacat, but this was stopped amid growing opposition from local folk.

The trucks loaded with hospital wastes always take the Sta. Ines exit of the North Luzon expressway, reaching the dumpsite via the Concepcion-Magalang road.

Gallardo reported to Guiao, however, that the hospital wastes he has been hauling had already been treated in a plant in Bicutan.