MANILA, Philippines - Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza yesterday insisted that the new landfill being constructed in San Mateo, Rizal has complied with the terms and conditions of its environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and thus, “can now operate.”
In a statement, Atienza said a team he sent to the area yesterday reported to him that the landfill’s operator had completed the lining of the landfill, a holding pond for the leachate and a waste treatment facility, all part of the conditions set in the ECC.
Atienza also stressed that the landfill “is not located within a watershed area,” again refuting claims by environmentalists and concerned San Mateo residents who are opposing the project.
He said it has been ascertained that the landfill is situated in the vicinity of Mt. Mataba, specifically Barangay Pintong Bukawe in San Mateo, falling outside the coverage of the Marikina watershed reservation and an unnamed protected area covered by a 1977 presidential proclamation. – Katherine Adraneda