Editorial
The DENR and Pangasinan’s open dump sites
The discovery of an illegal open dumpsite in Tayug by an investigating team of the Department of Natural Resources brings to the fore the unabated practice of local government units maintaining open dumpsites in defiance of the law prohibiting it.
What is worrisome in that report was the failure (or refusal?) of the DENR regional office to impose sanction on local government of Tayug for its violation of the law. What it simply did was to direct the clearing of the river polluted by the dumpsite. No penalties, nothing.
Closer to home, a more serious cause for concern is the continuing operation of the open dumpsite in Dagupan City, a stone’s throw away from the city’s beach shoreline. For some still unknown reasons, the Community Environment and Natural Resources office in the city has not dared to call the attention of the city government about its violation. Curiously, the non-government organizations in the city have not taken the cudgels for the residents affected by the stench and pollution spawned by the dumpsite.
By comparison, some four months ago, five Metro Manila mayors and two other local executives from Bulacan and Cavite provinces were charged with violating the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
They became the first batch of local government officials to face a complaint for continuing to operate garbage dumps beyond the Feb. 16 deadline.
Charged in the office of the Environment Ombudsman were Manila Mayor Lito Atienza; Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr.; Rodriguez (formerly Montalban, Rizal province) Mayor Pedro S. Cuerpo, San Mateo Mayor Jose F. Diaz and Navotas Mayor Tobias Tiangco. Also included in the complaint sheet were Obando (Bulacan) Mayor Zoilito Santiago and Cavite City Mayor Bernardo S. Paredes.
The charges were filed by the Ecowaste Coalition, composed of the environmental groups Bangon Kalikasan Movement, Buklod Tao Foundation, Cavite Green Coalition, Montalban Environmental Protection and Development Council, the November 17 Movement and Sining Yapak.
The mayors “brazenly” violated Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecowaste Law by refusing to close down the open and controlled garbage dumps in their areas. RA 9003 called for the closure of all open dumps on Feb. 16, 2004 and controlled dumps by Feb. 16 this year.
If DENR does not have the will to enforce the law, then it’s time for non-government organizations to act.
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