The Office of the Ombudsman is targeting the closure of 100 more open dumps next year, as it sets its sights on perpetrators of illegal logging, mining and fishing.
Environmental Ombudsman Gerard Mosquera said 100 more local government units (LGUs) would face fact-finding investigation next year.
Ombudsman has launched probes of 50 erring LGUs this year.
Besides filing administrative and criminal complaints against officials of the 50 LGUs, the antigraft body has so far ordered the closure of open dumps in 29 cities and towns. These are found in the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Cavite, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon (including one in Lucena City), Mindoro Oriental, Aklan, Iloilo, Cebu, Samar and Leyte.
Mosquera said the closure of all 50 sites would be completed by November.
The remaining dumps are in Cagayan de Oro City and 20 other towns and cities in Albay, Bukidnon, Cotabato, South Cotabato, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Sur, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Palawan provinces.
Crackdown
This year’s crackdown marked the first sweeping effort to enforce the 15-year-old Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (Republic Act No. 9003), which prescribes standards for waste disposal and segregation.
After focusing on illegal dumps, the Environmental Ombudsman will begin cracking down on illegal mining, logging and fishing activities.
“We will eventually go there. We’re just trying to complete the cycle as far as illegal [dumps] are concerned,” Mosquera said.
He said his office would coordinate with the team of Environment Undersecretary Arturo Valdez as “we’ll be going over that in the coming months.”
Environmental crimes
In a keynote speech before the Inter-Agency National Workshop on High Profile Environmental Crimes, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales highlighted the need to address “environmental degradation by enterprising individuals abetted by corrupt public officials.”
Morales said “deterrence and prosecution are solutions to environmental problems.”
At the same time, she noted that “it is sadly a reality that environment protection is not regarded as sufficiently high in priority.” She pointed out that LGUs had earmarked only “a token amount of budgets” to environmental conservation and rehabilitation.
Valdez, in his speech, said “there are powerful interests, politicians and businessmen committing environmental crime.”
For her part, Sen. Loren Legarda said: “It is high time that we seriously look into the crimes against our environment and mete out harsh punishment to those who have raped our forests, plundered our seas, and murdered our ecosystems and wildlife.”