SC issues kalikasan writ vs Baguio dump

TUBA, Benguet, Philippines  – The Supreme Court (SC) has granted the petition of officials and residents of Benguet and La Union for a writ of kalikasan against the Irisan dump in Baguio City.

In issuing the writ, the SC ordered Baguio City officials to “cease and desist from making use of the Irisan dump either as a temporary or staging area or as a dumping or controlled area for all kinds of solid waste.

“With it, we hope it will finally stop the city from using Irisan for garbage,” said Rep. Ronald Cosalan, who led the filing of the petition last December.

Although Baguio officials led by Mayor Mauricio Domogan insisted that the open dump had been closed years ago, Benguet residents, specifically in Tuba town, are worried that the Aug. 27, 2011 trashslide there that killed six people, buried houses and affected water sources, will be repeated because garbage is still being dumped there.