Mt. Province town agrees to decommission dump

A SIGN in Tabuk, Kalinga, that went largely unheeded. EV ESPIRITU/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

BAGUIO CITY—A town accused of polluting the Chico River has decommissioned its riverside dump, as prescribed by a writ of kalikasan issued by the Supreme Court, officials said on Monday.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Kalinga Gov. Jocel Baac, in separate interviews, confirmed that the new set of leaders of Bontoc, Mt. Province, directed residents to start waste segregation after announcing that the town government would shut down the Toytoyokan Lagangew dump on Aug. 22.

The DENR had been concerned about Bontoc last month, after observing that its officials failed to transfer its waste facility as required by the court, said Clarence Baguilat, DENR Cordillera director.

The dump is about 100 meters from the Chico riverbank, separated only by a concrete barrier.

Chico River is a major Cordillera river system that starts from Mount Data in Mt. Province and traverses the towns of Bauko, Sabangan and Bontoc, as well as communities in the Kalinga towns of Tinglayan and Pasil, and the capital Tabuk City.

The Kalinga Anti-Pollution Action Group (Kapag) filed a petition for a writ of kalikasan in the Supreme Court, which the latter granted in October 2012.

In February, the Court of Appeals, which administers the writ, accepted a consent decree (a settlement agreement between Kapag and Bontoc which is overseen by the court) which obliged Bontoc to close and rehabilitate the dump and to develop an ecological waste facility.

Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey, who assumed office on July 1, put up signs announcing the closure of the dump in Caluttit village, Baac said.

“We are elated. It stops pollution affecting our white water rafting program and it stops polluting our rice fields,” he said.

Baguio City was also the recipient of a writ of kalikasan in 2011 when its only dump collapsed during a storm, killing six people and polluting a neighboring village in Tuba, Benguet.

Romeo Concio, chief of the city’s general services office, said the Department of Public Works and Highways had rehabilitated the dump, which was forcibly closed by residents in 2008.

He said the DPWH expects to complete the construction of a new retaining wall surrounding the old dump by Aug. 2. Once the wall and drainage system were fixed, the city government would start reforesting the hillside to convert it into an ecological park, he said. Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon