Thursday, April 24, 2008 MMDA vows to pay for use of Montalban landfill
THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said it has no intention to renege on its obligation to pay what it owed the Rodriguez Municipal Government in Rizal Province for hosting Metro Manila's garbage through the use of the 14-hectare Montalban sanitary landfill.
But Rodriguez Mayor Pedro Cuerpo should first prove before the court that the town is the rightful owner of the landfill before the agency pays up, according to MMDA Chief Legal Counsel Emmanuel de Castro.
De Castro issued the statement following reports attributed to Cuerpo that the mayor had threatened to ban Metro Manila's dump trucks from the town's landfill unless the MMDA pays them.
He said Cuerpo has the wrong perception that the agency is not obliged to the municipality, adding that this is exactly the reason why it had filed a case before the court to resolve the conflict.
The issue on who is the right entity that the MMDA will pay for the use of the sanitary landfill has divided the Municipal Government and the Rizal Provincial Government headed by Governor Casimiro Ynares III.
He said the MMDA has no recourse but to wait for the outcome of a pending case for inter-pleader it had filed with the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) before it can settle its obligations with the rightful landfill owner.
"It's up to the court to decide whether it's the municipality or the Provincial Government we will pay to. Until then, we cannot move yet lest we be cited for contempt because the case is sub judice," de Castro said.
Cuerpo has maintained his stance that the MMDA should pay the Municipal Government for the use of the facility and even raised the "tipping fee" last year from the P439 per garbage-bearing truck to P1,000.
Reports said Cuerpo would order anew to stop the dumping of garbage in the town if the MMDA ignores the Municipal Council's demand for payment.
The mayor was suspended last February by the Rizal Provincial Government for ignoring a resolution stopping him from collecting fees from garbage haulers.
Cuerpo returned to his post on April 18 after getting a reprieve from Malacañang, which ordered a stay in his suspension pending a review of his appeal.
About 8,000 metric tons (MTs) of garbage generated by residents of Metro Manila are dumped into the Montalban sanitary landfill while the rest are distributed in various dumpsites operated by the MMDA. (AH/Sunnex)
