LEGAZPI CITY—The Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday ordered mayors of five towns and a city in Albay province to shut down their open dumps or face criminal and administrative charges.
Investigators from the Office of the Ombudsman, after a fact-finding investigation, said the local governments of Tiwi, Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, Polangui and Tabaco City failed to comply with the Ecological Solid Management Act of 2000 (Republic Act No. 9003).
The law requires local government units to build sanitary landfills and outlaws the operation of open dumps.
Gerard Mosquera, deputy Ombudsman for Luzon and Environmental Ombudsman, said Mayors Ami Villanueva of Tiwi, Gerry Jaucian of Daraga, Maria Ahrdail Baldo of Camalig, Gemma Ongjoco of Guinobatan, Cherilie Mella Sampal of Polangui and Krisel Lagman-Luistro of Tabaco City assured him that they would comply with the directive to close the dumps.
Mosquera, in an interview, said the mayors were given 30 days, without extension, to close the facilities.
“We will not tolerate or accept excuses,” said Mosquera.
“They [mayors] have common violations. These are open dumps,” he said.
In January, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau in the Bicol region, upon recommendation of the National Solid Waste Commission (NSWC), warned the six mayors of criminal charges should they fail to close the facilities.
The five towns and city in Albay were among the first batch of 50 local governments across the country that were found to have violated RA No. 9003.
An NSWC report said except for Legazpi City, almost all 113 towns and cities in Bicol violated the law. Households in these areas do not practice waste segregation, it said.