Caviteños protest waste incinerator’s emission test

TRECE MARTIRES CITY – Cavite residents staged a prayer rally the other day to express their opposition to the emission test of a waste treatment facility which allegedly uses incineration that poses risk to public health and the environment.

Members of the Cavite Green Coalition and Ecological Waste Coalition (EcoWaste), including nuns, students, and environmental advocates, held a Mass "for the protection of the people’s right to a healthy environment" in protest of the ongoing emission test-run of the waste treatment facility operated by the Integrated Waste Management Inc (IWMI).

Clad in pregnant-belly costumes, eight women protesters stood in front of the facility to call attention to the proven hazards of incineration, especially to women and children.

The rallyists reminded the government that community health should be given priority over corporate profit.

According to EcoWaste, waste incineration is banned under the Clean Air Act of 1999 and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

"We are convinced that the IWMI is not sincere in conducting a conclusive test of emissions and in making sure that the test results generated are reliable, independently verifiable and properly documented," said Ochie Tolentino, coordinator of the Cavite Green Coalition.

"The IWMI has a previous history of testing emissions and never bothering to report," he added.

In 2005, the regional office of the Environmental Management Bureau issued a cease-and-desist order against IWMI after it failed to submit the results of two previous emission tests.

The ongoing test-run, which began on Feb. 6, is covered by a temporary permit to operate.

EcoWaste noted that during the two earlier emission tests, the IWMI "pleaded error in the sampling of the pollutants tested." – With Arnell Ozaeta