THE Bacolod City Council approved a resolution sternly reminding hospitals in the city to ensure strict adherence and compliance with Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, which includes the safe and environmentally sound management of health care, waste and RA 6969 or the Hazard Waste Control Act, which include the collection and transport of infectious biomedical wastes.
The resolution, authored by Councilor Carl Lopez, was approved during the regular session of the City Council on Wednesday, December 16.
Lopez said it is the policy of the state to monitor the transport, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous wastes to prevent or avoid the likelihood of environmental contamination.
"In these times of heightened and health consciousness, addressing the issue of proper health care waste disposal is of paramount concern not only for environmentalists or other members of the health sector but for the whole society as well, most especially for authorities involved in the regulation of this vital element," he said.
Lopez noted that the office of the Committee on Environment and Ecology was informed by the IPM-Construction and Development Corp. (IPM-CDC), the city's contractor for the management and operation of sanitary landfill facility services, several incident reports regarding the dumping of hazardous wastes of hospitals.
Lopez said the detailed reports revealed that the hospitals involved in the dumping of medical hazardous wastes were Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH), Bacolod Adventist Medical Hospital (BAMC) and Riverside Medical Center Inc. (RMCI).
In its letter dated November 27, 2020 and addressed to Nelson Sedillo, head of Department of Public Services, BAMC Pollution Control and Waste Management Officer Engineer Lourence Mae Gabrido said they already investigated the incident and they found out that one of their outsourced personnel have failed to comply with the fully established policies and procedures of their hospital.
"We are now in the process of instituting disciplinary actions and corrective action programs such that the same and similar incidents will not happen in the future. We are truly faithful and compliant to the pertinent environmental laws and we would continue to value our partnership in our war on waste," Gabrido said.