Romy Hidalgo, coordinator of the EcoWaste’s Task Force Open Dumps Landfills, said the landmark decision of the High Tribunal translates to the victory of both the people and the environment.
"The court ruled in favor of the constitutionally-protected rights of the communities to a balanced and healthful ecology," Hidalgo said.
"The decision offers hope to so many impacted communities that are increasingly being poisoned by the over 700 waste dumps scattered throughout the country," he added.
Noli Abinales, a resident of San Mateo and president of Buklod Tao Foundation, said the SC ruling should terminate all other efforts or proposals to resurrect the controversial landfill.
He said the landfill located in Barangay Pintong Bukawe was built and operated without prior consultation and agreement from the citizenry, which is in violation of the law.
"We hope that this SC decision will exhort and unify all parties, especially the people and LGUs of San Mateo and the entire Rizal province, in fast tracking the implementation of ecological systems for preventing, reducing and managing discards that will render dumping or land-filling a thing of the past," he noted.
The SC ordered the government to permanently close the San Mateo landfill in Rizal, citing the facility’s adverse effects on the environment and the health of the residents.
In a 43-page en banc decision penned by Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, the High Court unanimously declared unconstitutional Proclamation No. 635 signed by former President Fidel Ramos on Aug. 28, 1995 setting aside 71.6 hectares of the Marikina watershed for the sanitary landfill aimed at addressing the garbage crisis in Metro Manila.
The SC said the residents of Rizal will remain uneasy unless the dumpsite is permanently closed.
Concerned citizens previously questioned the landfill proposal way back in 1988. The Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau’s confirmation that the landfill site is located within the Marikina Watershed Reservation even heightened opposition to the project by the public.
In the early 1990s, opposition to the operation of the landfill, which measures 1,060,529 square meters, snowballed with the church and homeowners’ groups joining the battle. This led to its closure on Dec. 20, 2000.
The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 prohibits the construction or operation of landfills or any waste disposal facility on any aquifier, groundwater reservoir or watershed.