In Negros Oriental; 7 LGUs finally attain a common dumpsite

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — Finally, the struggle to have a common sanitary landfill (SLF) is over for seven local government units in Negros Oriental—Dumaguete City, and the towns of Zamboanguita, Dauin, Bacong, Valencia and Sibulan.

The realization came after a series of consultative meetings by their respective mayors, planning officers, and environmental management officers together with representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

In a meeting held the other day at the residence of Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Ipe Remollo at barangay Cantil-e, Mayor Edgar Teves of Valencia town offered to host the SLF in a six-to-eight hectare lot at Barangay Malaunay.

To be called as Dumaguete City Sanitary Landfill, Remollo said the city will shoulder the cost in the acquisition of the lot, the construction of which will be undertaken by a private contractor, who will receive the tipping fee from the seven LGUs through a memorandum of agreement.

Teves said that, for Valencia as host municipality, the consensus is for the LGUs to pay half of the tipping fee per metric ton of garbage delivered to the SLF, aside from the minimum supervision over the facility.

The area was recommended by the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) with only three or four residential houses in the area. Just the same, Teves said it will bring the matter to the residents for their approval as part of the process in acquiring social acceptability of the project.

The commitment of the mayors and planning officers present in the meeting is to generate three to four metric tons of garbage each from Zamboanguita, Dauin, Bacong, Valencia, and San Jose, while Sibulan will have a daily garbage output of about 15 metric tons, and Dumaguete with 70 to 80 metric tons of garbage daily.

Bacong Vice Mayor Lenin Alviola earlier said the choice for Barangay Timbao in his town, as the venue of the SLF, was not possible because under the comprehensive land use plan (CLUP) of the Bacong, it is declared as an agricultural area, and has been considered as the food basket of the province—aside from Canlaon City — supplying vegetables and fruits in the local markets.

According to Remollo, the decision to put up the SLF was part of a desperation move of the LGUs concerned, amid the pressure of law to have sanitary landfills in their areas. He then called themselves as The Group of Seven, saying that the task was not that easy considering the threat of notices of violations, while these LGUs are saddled with financial constraints.

Remollo said the Group of Seven was lucky that Mayor Teves offered to host the SLF, considering that out of three areas earlier considered, only the lot in Valencia passed the MGB standards.

Others who attended the meeting were Mayors Neil Credo of Dauin and Melnick Logronio of San Jose, Councilor Antonio Renacia of Sibulan, the planning officer of Zamboanguita, and their respective planning and environment officers. (FREEMAN)