Supreme Court grants Bulacan folk relief in fight vs landfill
Relief in the form of a legal remedy from the Supreme Court (SC) has raised the hopes of residents opposed to the construction of a P1-billion landfill on Manila Bay off Obando, Bulacan.
The Supreme Court has issued a writ of kalikasan in favor of the residents who warned that the operation of the private landfill would set off an “environmental catastrophe.’’
The writ is granted to those “whose constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology is violated, or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission… involving environmental damage of such magnitude as to prejudice the life, health or property of inhabitants in two or more cities or provinces.”
In a February 21 en banc resolution, the Supreme Court resolved to issue the writ and referred the case to the Court of Appeals.
It ordered the respondents, including Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, to file a verified return showing that they did not violate any environmental law or commit any act resulting in environmental damage. However, it put on hold the issuance of a temporary environmental protection order pending the hearing.
Reply required
The high court also required the petitioners to file a consolidated reply to the respondents’ comments on their petition.
Clerk of Court Enriqueta Vidal issued a one-page notice on the details of the resolution on February 21, a copy of which was furnished the Philippine Daily Inquirer by environmentalists.
In November last year, Obando residents petitioned the high tribunal to stop the operation of the private landfill on a 45-hectare piece of land in Barangay (village) Salambao and issue the writ.
Catastrophic effects
They argued that the landfill would destroy a thriving mangrove ecosystem; cause persistent water, air and soil pollution in its immediate environs; aggravate the condition of the bay; destroy the livelihood of coastal residents, and worsen the flooding problem in Obando and adjacent towns.
“The proposed project,” they said, “involves the large-scale dumping of unprocessed garbage into the coastal waters of Obando along Manila Bay, in blatant violation of the continuing mandamus issued by this court.”
The petitioners were Ma. Teresa S. Bondoc, Wilfredo DG. de Ocampo, Conrado C. Lumabas Jr., Melissa A. Padilla, Macaria D. Lumabas, Lucila S. Sayao, Mercy Dolorito, Arnel R. Wico, Edwin T. Ramos, Joseph Ryan C. Raymundo, Rodolfo Jose C. Lapus, Victoria M. Correa, Adelina C. Baltazar, Milagros S. Suan, Virgilio C. Dimanlig and Antonio P. Roxas.
Other respondents in the case were Environmental Management Bureau
(EMB) Region III Director Lormelyn Claudio, Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-
Alvarado, Bulacan’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Obando Mayor Orencio Gabriel, the Obando Sangguniang Bayan, Salambao Sangguniang Barangay and Ecoshield Development Corp. (EDC), the project proponent.
Remote site
The site is part of Manila Bay and can only be reached by motorized boats.
The petitioners said EDC will construct a landfill on existing fishponds in Obando “to meet the waste disposal needs’’ of Metro Manila and nearby provinces. The waste would be transported to the site by motorized vessels through waterways.
The project, to be undertaken on 45 hectares, would entail reclamation, water drainage and removal of live fauna to make way for a pit for the dump. It has a capacity of 1,000 metric tons of waste a day, they said.
From December 2010 up to October 2011, barangay and municipal councils and the provincial board issued resolutions and ordinances approving the project, while the EMB in Region III issued an environmental compliance certificate to EDC for the construction, they said.
The residents had communicated with environment and local officials to air their opposition to the project but to no avail.
