THE Cebu City Council has put on hold the approval of the rehabilitation plan of the Inayawan sanitary landfill after some councilors asked to see the details of the proposal first.
Councilor Joy Pesquera said she and other councilors are not against the rehab, but they want to see the final draft of the plan before approving the resolution filed by Councilor Jerry Guardo last March 26.
Councilors Margot Osmeña and Raymond Garcia agreed to Pesquera’s motion, and the council set an executive session on April 23.
It was Councilor Joel Garganera who initiated the closure of the landfill, obtaining a Writ of Kalikasan from the Court of Appeals (CA) in December 2016. The Writ of Kalikasan is a legal remedy to protect one’s right to a healthy environment.
In 2018, the Supreme Court en banc affirmed the resolution of the Court of Appeals Cebu Station in 2016, which granted the Writ of Kalikasan directing Mayor Tomas Osmeña or his representatives to stop dumping garbage in the landfill.
The 15.4-hectare landfill was reopened in June 2016 after former mayor Michael Rama had shut it down in January 2015.
The three councilors from the opposition Barug PDP-Laban—Pesquera, Garcia and Garganera—want to know the full plan for the rehabilitation.
Garganera said Mayor Osmeña had set aside P36 million for the construction of the perimeter fence and P10 million for the leveling of 15 hectares heaped with garbage, but he described the administration as having no concrete plans.
Garganera said he was confused why the former landfill needed to be fenced if the plan was to transform the former landfill into an eco-park. The other option is to transform it into a waste-to-energy (WTE) facility.
“We appropriated and spent money, but until now we do not know what is the mode of our rehabilitation or what they want to do with the landfill,” Garganera said.
He further said that if the administration chooses the WTE option, it will violate the CA ruling that does not allow dumping in the former landfill.
Due to lack of time to discuss the other aspects of the rehabilitation, Guardo proposed to conduct an executive session on April 23.
The council will invite representatives from the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO) and Full Advantage Philippines International Inc. (FAPII), which prepared the rehab plan.
FAPII has proposed to build a waste-to-energy facility within the 15 hectares of the former landfill. If the City Government would like, FAPII could also build an eco-park and renewable energy center.
Nida Cabrera, CCENRO chief, said P80 million was set aside for the rehabilitation of the former landfill.
The Inayawan landfill began operating in 1998. It was used by Cebu City until 2016. (FROM PAC OF SUPERBALITA CEBU / KAL)