The recently closed dump is on a piece of illegally reclaimed land facing Laguna de Bay in Barangay Hagonoy, Taguig City. —GRIG MONTEGRANDE
The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) closed down an open dump in Taguig City that had been operating for years on illegally reclaimed land facing Laguna de Bay.
The agency also filed charges against the operators of the dump located along C6 Road in Barangay Hagonoy.
Lawyer John Andrew de Guzman, LLDA’s chief legal officer, on Wednesday said this was the first legal action taken against illegal reclamation in the lake area since President Duterte ordered a major rehabilitation of the 90,000-hectare water body.
In his first State of the Nation Address, Duterte said he wanted the lake transformed into a “vibrant economic zone” by addressing issues on watershed destruction, land conversion and pollution.
LLDA general manager Jaime Medina personally filed the complaint against the dump operator in the Taguig prosecutor’s office on Dec. 7. The respondents were identified as Matea Perez, Raul Roldan, Noel Dionisio, Constancia Cabansa and Paquito Delbo. Perez was reportedly the lot owner, based on records of tax declaration from the Taguig city government.
De Guzman said the respondents violated the LLDA charter for operating a dump site without a permit from the government.
In August, LLDA’s Surveillance and Monitoring Division went to the site and found it “backfilled with soil debris, plastic garbage, etc.,” according to the complaint.
The agency and the Taguig city government issued a cease and desist order on Sept. 25 and assigned security guards to man the dump.
The complaint did not indicate the size of the dump “but if you pass by C6 from Taytay (Rizal) going to Taguig, that whole part on your left is reclaimed. They’re also operating dump sites which are also violating environmental laws,” De Guzman said.
Asked how the respondents were able to reclaim a part of the lake without facing charges from the local government, “that I do not know,” he replied.
The LLDA has been demolishing illegal fish pens in the lake to address congestion and water pollution. Environmental experts have also identified illegal shoreland reclamation and illegal settlements as major contributors to the lake’s deterioration.