Group slams move to amend air act

CEBU, Philippines - A Cebu-based environmental group slammed a proposal to amend Section 20 of the Clean Air Act, which allows the use of incinerators to burn municipal, bio-medical and hazardous wastes.

Lawyer Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, PEJC co-founder, describes the amendment as “downright regression,” which reflects the government’s lack of political will and its obsession with quick fixes instead of enforcing progressive environmental policies.

House Bill No. 3161, which was introduced by Caloocan City 2nd District Representative Edgar Erice aims to lift the waste incineration ban under the said Act.

Ramos said that if enforced firmly, Republic Act No. 9003 or the “Philippine Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000”, it could efficiently reduce the volume and toxicity of waste and tone down, if not reverse, prevailing throw away mentality.

“Instead of lifting the incineration ban and opting for quick fixes, the government should strengthen the enforcement of the ban, including increasing penalties for non-performing officials and violators,” she said.

RA 9003 provides the legal framework for the country’s systematic, comprehensive and ecological solid waste management program that ensure protection of public health and the environment.

The law calls for mandatory segregation of solid wastes; establishment of LGU’s MRF; prohibition against the use of open dumpsites, littering in public places, open burning of solid waste, squatting in open dumps and landfills; among others.

Aside from seeking support against regressive policy measures, Ramos cautioned local government units against embracing waste to energy (WtE) initiatives “hook, line and sinker,” contending that such projects might only exacerbate the province’s battle against garbage and pollution, aside from violating existing laws.

Earlier, some 50 representatives of various LGUs in Cebu province, Office of the Environmental Ombudsman-Visayas, as well as environmental and health advocates from the civil society converged in a forum to look into waste-to-energy (WtE) incineration schemes that have penetrated the country, including Cebu.

The multi-stakeholder forum aims to increase awareness and support for low cost, ecological and sustainable non-burn technologies that will support and protect the incineration ban under the RA 9003 and RA 8749, which, Ramos said, is being threatened by regressive legislative bills and WtE schemes. —/JMO (FREEMAN)