Baguio’s wastes being dumped in Malasiqui
MALASIQUI—Overpopulated Baguio City, currently facing serious garbage disposal and management problems, appears to have found a dumping site for its wastes in Barangay Taloyan here.
And while the dumping was going on for a week, the town mayor was the last to know even as barangay officials, seem perfectly aware of what had been going on the whole time.
This became evident when Tuesday evening last week, the Malasiqui Police intercepted three dump trucks of the Baguio-based ProTech Machineries Corporation on the way to deliver their load of garbage in the farm of one Leo Quiñano in Barangay Taloyan.
Malasiqui Mayor Armand Domantay denied knowing about the dumping until the police intercepted the trucks last Tuesday.
ProTech confirmed it operates a “plant” in Malasiqui where it brings residual wastes from Baguio.
Police investigation showed that company’s dump trucks have been hauling garbage to Quiñano’s farm at night to avoid detection by the police and residents.
At least 17 truckloads of non-biodegradable garbage have so far been unloaded at Quiñano’s farm before the three dump trucks of the firm were caught at the police checkpoint in Malasiqui.
The drivers and helpers of the dump trucks were held overnight at the police station and charged the next day with the case of violation of Presidential Decree No. 903 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan was quoted in a local newspaper report saying that ProTech was contracted by the city to find a suitable location to transfer and sort the garbage “before it is brought to their facility in Malasiqui, Pangasinan.”
ProTech used to dump the city’s non-biodegradable waste in Barangay Udiao, La Union, near the town of Sison in Pangasinan, but this stopped after some town officials and residents expressed their objection due to health and sanitation risks.
At the same time, Baguio was earlier denied from bringing its garbage to the newly-opened engineered sanitary landfill in Urdaneta City.
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