Saturday, September 13, 2008 Editorial: Kalunasan as dump site
OFFICIALS of Barangay Kalunasan should not be left on their own in looking into the proposed 15-hectare sanitary landfill that Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña unilaterally decided to set up in their place.
Environmentalists, for example, should help in scrutinizing the plan not only because Kalunasan officials may not have the expertise to assess its environmental impact but also because they may not be able to challenge the mayor’s arguments about the choice of site for the landfill.
Kalunasan officials are politically aligned with Osmeña, and even if they are not, it is doubtful whether they can acquire the daring to challenge the mayor considering his leadership style and personal trait.
Concern
To be fair to Osmeña, this is a long-term project that as of the moment is still being conceptualized, although there are worries considering that the mayor has identified the site and may speed up the process towards its realization during his term.
That is why it would have been more prudent for the mayor to have consulted Kalunasan officials before he identified the site although that is admittedly too much to expect from him.
Constructing a “sanitary landfill,” euphemism for dump site, is always a concern not only for the surrounding community but also for the constituency of the concerned local government unit.
Thus, discussion on the choice of a landfill site should involve everybody.
Impact
Besides, there’s the experience of Barangay Inayawan to consider, as the landfill there has been operating for the past decade already.
It would be interesting to solicit the views of the people in the community near the landfill on the aspect of cleanliness, health and environment and expand this to the residents in the road stretch where the garbage trucks of the city traverse daily.
Once a landfill is opened in Kalunasan, that will have an impact on the neighborhood where the connecting roads pass, including the mainly residential Barangay Guadalupe.
That is aside from the environmental impact of the landfill itself on Kalunasan as a barangay and Kalunasan as mainly an upland area that straddles part of the Cebu watershed.
