NO ACCESS This damaged Igay Road at Barangay Paradise 3 in City of San Jose del Monte will be repaired so that dump trucks can resume garbage collection in Bulacan province. CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE
CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan, Philippines — The operator of a sanitary landfill in Norzagaray town in Bulacan said it would start repairs on the only access road used to haul trash from 18 towns and cities next week, after agencies resolved the legal issues that triggered a five-week garbage crisis in the province.
Aside from an erosion that prevented garbage trucks from going to the dump operated by Waste Custodian Management (Wacuman), the 18-hectare landfill at Sitio Tiakad in Norzagaray was shut down by the town government over a property dispute as well as questions on its compliance with environmental standards.
Arthur Legaspi, Wacuman president and chief executive officer, said the company was ready to fix Igay Road while waiting for government agencies to formalize their reports on the status of the road.
A presidential proclamation issued by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo classified the Wacuman landfill as the alternative waste facility for Bulacan and Metro Manila. The proclamation directed the government to maintain all roads leading to the landfill.
Igay Road at Barangay Paradise 3 in City of San Jose del Monte is the only route to the landfill. Rains eroded portions of the road in May but repairs were not started because of claims that it was a private road and any repair would need the permission of its owners.
Village officials led by Reynaldo Cardona said San Jose del Monte had sole jurisdiction over the access way, and that funds had to be appropriated for repairs, including those for other damaged roads in the city.
Public property
Legaspi said Wacuman volunteered to make repairs but was rebuffed by the San Jose del Monte government.
During a meeting with outgoing Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado on June 27, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said evidence pointed to Wacuman’s operations as legitimate and the road should be reopened.
Alvarado said the national government built Igay Road. “No one owns the road. That’s public property. No one can refuse to fix and reopen that road because there are laws that need to be followed,” he said.
On April 22, the Norzagaray government ordered Wacuman to stop operating because of lack of business permit after the landfill operator failed to submit documents showing it owned the land hosting the dump.
Wacuman is disputing a property claim filed in court by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
“Wacuman was granted an environmental compliance certificate (ECC). Its validity to operate has been determined by the ECC. The local government cannot establish the validity or invalidity of the Wacuman lot’s ownership,” Chairmaine Jacqueline Paulino, DILG Central Luzon assistant director said.
Polluted waterways
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is also finalizing a report about Wacuman after Cardona reported that the landfill had polluted nearby waterways.
Lormelyn Claudio, Central Luzon director of the Environmental Management Bureau, said samples taken on June 21 from landfill waters discharged into the rivers were below standard.
But Claudio said the findings were inconclusive because the landfill had been operating for more than a month and rain that fell on June 20 and 21 could have affected the water quality. —Carmela Reyes-Estrope