Thursday, September 11, 2008 P300M, 15-ha. landfill in Kalunasan: bry. officials upset, seek consultation
UNKNOWN to Barangay Kalunasan officials and residents, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is planning to set up a 15-hectare sanitary landfill there, a project that will cost the City at least P300 million.
The amount will cover the construction of the landfill and the road network to the facility.
Osmeña said the proposal is a long-term project, but the City Government is already preparing for the time when the Inayawan sanitary landfill can no longer be used.
The mayor is considering a private property at the far end of Kalunasan, which he said is an ideal location because of its distance from the city proper. It also sits at the center of the north and south districts.
“Theoretically, it’s ideal because it’s not in a populous area, it’s not in a critical watershed and it will be easy for us to construct a road going there. We will just build a road on the riverbed,” Osmeña told a news conference yesterday.
Barangay officials expressed their reservations on the project, but said they will go along with it if a landfill is needed.
A city official also pointed out that the proposed site is in an upland area, which might not make it an ideal place.
Barangay Captain Edelito Mabano and his councilors visited the mayor yesterday to discuss their Barangay Development Council meeting on Oct. 5, and were surprised when the mayor announced his plan on the landfill.
Mabano said they were not briefed and consulted about it previously.
“Personally, I think dili gyud maayo na sa Kalunasan ilabay ang basura kay nindot pa ang among environment didto, presko ang hangin. Pero kung kinahanglanon na gyud, wala ta’y mahimo ug mao’y gusto sa mayor (Putting up a landfill will affect the environment, the clean air. But if the city needs a new landfill, I won’t oppose the mayor’s wishes),” he told reporters after their meeting.
The road will first connect Barangay Guadalupe to the landfill, but it will later connect to roads in other barangays in the city.
Aside from giving garbage trucks access to the landfill, the roads will also give residents access to a vast plantation of mango trees, which the mayor said can give the people livelihood.
“This is a very long-term project. It will even extend long after 2010. Inayawan can still accept a lot of garbage but it has its limits. It’s not that we don’t know what to do with our garbage, but sooner or later we will need a new one,” Osmeña said.
The Inayawan landfill is already three years past its seven-year lifespan, which prompted the City to strengthen waste segregation and recycling programs. (LCR)
