HERMOSA, Bataan — The municipal government here on Monday issued a Notice of Violation against a dumpsite in one of its villages, threatening it of closure if not corrected and will pose danger to public health.
Hermosa Mayor Antonio Joseph “Jopet” Inton, in a press briefing, enumerated various violations committed by Econest Waste Management Corp. that has been operating in barangay Mambog since July 2017 under a Private-Public-Partnership scheme with the local government.
“Una, unsegregated waste. Tumatanggap ito ng unsegregated waste sa ibang bayan samantalang kami dito nagpapakahirap para mag segregate ng basura,” Mayor Inton stressed.
Inton said the Environmental Clearance Certificate issued to the sanitary landfill based on its category has some conditions to follow.
“Una, kailangan everyday after magtapon ng basura, iko-kober ng six inches na soil ang basurahan pero wala. Pangalawa, pangako walong taon ang Cell 1 pero two years pa lang puno na. Overloaded na Cell 1. Pangatlo, ang leachate pond. Kailangan after ng leachate pond meron polishing and chlorination. Wala pa. Nang mag-inspect ako, wala. Pang-apat, may building na ipinatayo na walang building permit, walang consent ng pamahalaang bayan. Wala ng respeto sa munisipyo ng Hermosa bilang partner sa PPP.”
The mayor said Econest should not forget that the local government owns the sanitary landfill but that he was surprised why employees of the municipal government were barred from entering and inspecting the dumpsite.
“Isa pa, ang tagal ko ng hinihingi ang financial statement nila. Ang ibinibigay puro expenses pero ang income hanggang ngayon wala at hindi nag-reremit sa pamahalaang lokal ng share na dapat natatanggap nito,” Inton said.
He said that their agreement was for the municipal government to dump garbage in the landfill free of charge.
“Noong una zero billing kami pero ngayong may violations ito, bini-bill bigla ang munisipyo.”
The mayor said he could not understand why the company makes decisions without the consent of the municipality.
“Saan ka makakakita ng partnership na hindi ini-inform ang partner?” He said they were not informed of other areas outside of Bataan allowed to dump wastes in the Hermosa landfill.
“Ang usapnamin Hermosa at Bataan lang para matulungan ang lalawiganhabang ginagawa pa ang para dito pero may Quezon City na, Laguna.”
Asked what he will do after serving the Notice of Violation, Inton said “After i-serve ang Notice of Violation, tingnan natin compliance nila. Pag hindi sila nag-comply, wala akong magagawa. Ipapatigil ko basurahan kung ito’y magpo-pose ng danger sa public health.”
Orly Balean, municipal disaster risk reduction management chief, said they served the notice because of an incident last January 11 where a team of inspectors saw dumptrucks with unsegregated wastes dumping in the landfill.
“Malinaw ang mandato ng batas na dapat segregated ang dinadala sa landfill,” he said. Baclean said they inspected the area to see if it is complying with the provisions of the law.“May mga pangangailangan pang dapat ayusin,” he said.
With Balean serving the notice were municipal Councilor Luz Samaniego, municipal secretary Lawyer Joseph Sabado, Hermosa police chief Police Major Jeffrey Onde, municipal marshals headed by chief marshal Jason Enriquez and barangay officials.
Econest WMC is yet to issue their official statement as of press time.