Los Baños mayor vows to clear garbage in creeks in 3 weeks

Los Baños, Laguna Mayor Caesar Perez yesterday vowed to clear the Makiling Forest Reserve, particularly the Anos Creek, of garbage in three weeks or less.

He guaranteed action after a local councilor of the municipality exposed how he has allegedly committed violations of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act by dumping waste at a creek.

Councilor Norvin Tamisin accused him of putting Laguna de Bay at the risk of being polluted with leachate.

"Give me 15 days, itataya ko ang buhay ko dito at ito ay lilinisin namin (I'll bet my life on this and we are going to clean this up) in 15 or 20 days," Perez told The STAR, denouncingwhat he calls as politically-motivated attacks against him.

According to Perez, he is doing everything he can to address garbage woes in Los Baños and it hurts him that his detractors refuse to see the effort.

"Masyado akong nabastos dito sa pangyayaring ito. Kung baga ang tinitingnan lamang yung isang bagay, huwag naman natin hanapin yung mali (I am greatly offended by this. They only see one aspect of the problem. Let us not see only those that are wrong)," Perez said.

"Ipagpalagay na nating mali, pero may tama naman akong ginagawa. One-year-old pa lang itong segregation natin (Let us say that I have made mistakes but I have also done right things. This waste segregation project is only one year old)," he added, stressing that the dumpsite in question is a segregation area.

Perez lashed out at Tamisin who, he believes, will run for Mayor and is trying to sabotage his administration, especifically his efforts to solve the town's garbage problems.

The STAR was able to speak to Perez through Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) General Manager Edgardo Manda, who called this paper after learning of the problem, which was published in The STAR yesterday.

He immediately inspected the dumping area located within the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) territory.

The LLDA, Manda said, is very concerned and will ensure that Laguna de Bay will not be polluted by dirty and poisonous water.

On initial inspection, he said there is garbage in the area but he doubts if it can produce leachate which can run through the Anos Creek and reach the Laguna de Bay.

He gave assurances that the LLDA is looking into the case and will update The STAR of any developments and any new information they can gather through interviews and further inspections.

Perez said they are in the process of forging agreements with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) so they can use the San Pedro, Laguna dumpsite.

However, the Philippine Bar Association (PBA) sees a problem with this option as San Pedro has an open dumpsite.

Open dumpsites are also not allowed under the law which is why San Pedro is among those on the list of local government units about to be charged before the Office of the Ombudsman.

PBA president Linda Jimeno, in an interview, said Perez will have a problem with it if he pushes through with the plan.

As for Tamisin’s credibility, she explained that she verified the local councilor’s claims with the help of the Mother Earth Foundation, who found out that there is indeed garbage being dumped in a creek at the Makiling Forest Reserve of the UPLB.

Jimeno said Perez will have to explain the pictures and the video footage if he intends to contest Tamisin’s allegations.

The STAR learned of the alleged illegal dumping of garbage at the Anos Creek after Tamisin sought the help of the Makati-based lawyer’s group, which is also involved in environmental crusade and up against local government units found violating environmental laws.

Jimeno said that if Perez will be able to keep his promise to clear the creek of thrash within his self-imposed deadline, he will also have to ensure that the garbage will be disposed of properly and not just dumped elsewhere.