FOR VIOLATION OF R. A. 9003

CLEAN up or face charges in court.

This was the threat posed by lawyer Gonzalo Duque, president of Lyceum Northwestern University in Dagupan, as the city continues to face a mounting garbage problem.

Duque, also president of the Pangasinan Press Club, said in his capacity as a taxpayer, he plans to file charges in court against the Dagupan City government and all its officials for their failure to provide a solution to the city’s worsening waste problem which has been affecting residents and students.

Duque joined the KBP Forum last week attended by City Waste Management Division chief Teddy Villamil and officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to raise questions about garbage collection policies in the city, particularly in Barangay Tapuac where garbage has been piling up on the streets.

Saying he is already fed up over the inaction of city officials, Duque challenged Mayor Benjamin Lim and other officials to give priority to what he called the city’s current biggest problem.

“Ide-demanda ko kayo for causing nuisance,” Duque told Villamil even as he pointed out that the city officials should think of a better solution to ease the garbage problem.

Duque noted that that the hauling of garbage to other locations in Dagupan such as what was done recently in Barangay Bonuan Boquig “is not the solution” .

He said the people are paying their taxes to the city and these should be spent to solve the garbage problem

“Saan ninyo ba ginagamit ang mga taxes namin? he asked.

“Ginagasta ninyo yan sa piyesta, sa bangus fest at sa ibat-iba pa, katulad ng pagpapatayo ninyo kunwari ng ospital,” he continued.

PRIORITY

Duque also pointed out that because of constant wranglings by officials on several other issues, including the MC Adore and Calasiao properties, they have failed to realize that the biggest problem in the city that should be given priority is garbage.

“Nagaway-away ang mga pulitiko but in the meantime, they are not doing anything to solve the garbage problem of the city,” Duque said, citing an instance when he saw city councilors and other city officials led by the mayor at Fortune Restaurant discussing the sale of the MC Adore and Calasiao properties instead of working out a legal and effective waste disposal system.

“I am getting tired with all you. Give us solution. Kasi, itong ginagawa natin isang kabastusan na. Gawa tayo ng gawa ng mga bagay na hindi naman prioridad, tapos pinababayaan ninyo ang basura,” he added.

Duque also lashed at Lim for building a public market in 2004 as a priority project even as he failed to fulfill his promise to solve the problem of garbage “within six months of my office” it being a “high priority” in 2001.

“That was a decade ago,” he said, “and the problem is still here and even got much, much worse.”

As to his planned suit against Dagupan officials, including the barangay officials, Duque said he will ask guidance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) where to file the case.

URDANETA OPTION

Duque suggested that since Dagupan still has no area just yet to set up its own landfill, the city government should use the landfill in Urdaneta, which is open to other towns and cities for a fee.

WMD’s Villamil responded that there are no funds to pay for hauling and tipping fees to bring the garbage to Urdaneta.

“I don’t buy that because you have the money for building a lying in hospital,” Duque said sharply.

Villamil also said that based on his consultation with Lim, the mayor thinks that the Awai property in San Jacinto is still an option to solve the garbage crisis in Dagupan but this might not be possible because the matter has been “politicized”.

The Awai land was purchased under the earlier administration of Lim for P16 million but the city was never able to take possession of the land as it is under the government’s land reform program and has since been distributed to farmers.

The land was purchased from a known business associate of the mayor.

At the same time, Duque urged the DENR to file charges against Dagupan for its violation of environmental laws, which requires all local government units to close dumpsites and set up a sanitary landfill.

Lim: It’s still Awai land
for city’s sanitary landfill

MAYOR Benjamin Lim is holding on to his vision of using the Awai land in San Jacinto, purchased by the city government under his previous term for P16 million, as the site for Dagupan’s sanitary landfill.

In the press release of the city hall, Lim said he considers Awai as the ultimate place for the city’s sanitary landfill in compliance with Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological and Solid Waste Management Act.

Lim, however, did not bother to elaborate or explain how the city can use the land which it does not have the title of ownership to. The land has been distributed to farmers as it has been declared under the land reform program even before it was paid for by Dagupan.

“The property has been certified fit for sanitary landfill then by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources until a local cable television here campaigned against its operation and caused the members of the Sangguniang Bayan of San Jacinto to back out. The solution to our waste problem is already at hand but because of politics, we are now under the dilemma on where to dispose our waste. This is the real story behind the Awai issue,” Lim said.

The mayor also pointed out that it is not just Dagupan, the commercial and educational center of the province that has no sanitary landfill.

“In the strictest sense of R.A. 9003, almost all local government units in the province, except Urdaneta City, are actually violating the law. What we are doing here is a band aid solution because we do not have a sanitary landfill,” said Lim in reaction to the dumping of transporting of garbage from the dumpsite to two private lots which residents in the area are protesting against.

Officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources have ruled that the transfer is illegal as it is not covered by an Environmental Compliance Certificate from the department.

“Tama ang DENR na walang ECC ang ciudad, but just the same wala din namang ECC yung sa Tondaligan. Nilipat lang natin yung mga basura para magkaroon tayo ng space, otherwise saan natin itatapon ang mga bagong basura. We are trying to make a temporary solution to the problem,” said Lim

He also defended the transfer saying it was beneficial to both the city and the lot owner, Barangay Chairman Pedro Gonzales of Bonuan Binloc, but did not mention complaints of the residents about the garbage stench and the health risks.

“Ang itinatabon natin sa lupa ni Kapitan Gonzales ay ang na-process ng mga basura na more than ten years na sa ating dump site at puede nang gawing landfill dahil ito naman ang kagustuhan ni Gonzales para matabunan yung kanyang property,” said Lim.

“In a sense, we both benefit from it,” he added. (with report from CIO)

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