COSMOPOLITAN Funeral Homes Inc. admitted yesterday its workers commited a mistake in dumping hazardous wastes on a lot in the boundary of Barangays Linao and Maghaway in Talisay City.
Rony Ng, Cebu City Cos-mopolitan manager, promised to conduct an inquiry to determine who among their workers were responsible for the dumping.
Cosmopolitan personnel later retrieved the garbage after officials admitted that their night duty personnel erred in dumping the garbage Tuesday night.
But Talisay City Legal Officer Owen Algoso said the retrieval of the garbage is not enough to absolve the funeral home from criminal liability.
Algoso said Cosmopolitan did not only violate Talisay City’s health and sanitation code but also provisions of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act of 2000.
Consummated
“Even if they already recovered the garbage, the act (dumping) has already been consummated,” Algoso said.
The garbage, reported to have a very strong stench, was dumped by the roadside about 200 meters away from the Talisay City Jail in Maghaway.
The more than 40 black plastic bags contained surgical masks, gloves, laboratory gowns, human hair, white powder, body bags and life vests with markings mv Princess of the Stars.
The City Ecological Solid Waste Management Board, headed by Mayor Socrates Fernandez, convened yesterday morning and discussed possible legal moves against Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes.
Landfill
Initially, Algoso cited paragraph 13 section 48 of RA 9003’s penal provisions that prohibits the “transport and dumping in bulk of collected domestic, industrial, commercial and institutional wastes in areas other than centers or facilities prescribe under this act.”
Algoso said the unlawful throwing of garbage was aggravated by the fact that it was dumped away from the city’s sanitary landfill in Tapul, Magha-way’s neighboring bara-ngay. The landfill was set up by City Hall to comply with RA 9003, which outlaws all open dumpsites.
Section 49, Algoso added, sets a fine against the violator of not less than P10,000 but not more than P200,000 or one month of imprisonment but not over three years, or both.
Algoso said City Hall will also coordinate with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to determine if the funeral parlor violated RA 6969 or the Nuclear Waste Control Act.
Ng said he was not aware that garbage was dumped in Talisay City.
“Honest to goodness talaga, I did not know that the garbage was dumped there,” said Ng.
Protocol
He admitted that he first denied that the bags containing the foul-smelling garbage were theirs. He later admitted after investigating the matter.
Ng said that under their disposal protocol, it was highly unlikely that the garbage would be dumped in Talisay City.
He said their protocol designates body bags and similar wastes as “hazardous” and should be separated from regular garbage. These are then sealed in a bag to contain their stench before being incinerated in their facility in Lahug.
However, with the arrival of 100 bodies last Tuesday and the expected visit of President Arroyo at the funeral home on Wednesday, the mistake was made.
Pinky Meneses, Cebu City Cosmopolitan marketing officer, said their personnel committed the lapse because of the volume of their work for several days.
Ng said that while they understand that whoever dumped the garbage did it “in good faith,” they would still impose sanctions if necessary. (EPB/GC)
