BAGUIO City Mayor Mauricio Domogan recently said the transfer of Baguio City’s garbage hauling and sorting in La Trinidad was merely due to an emergency situation which they wish should be understood by town officials.
Domogan recently made the statement in reply to calls of La Trinidad Mayor Edna Tabanda for the stoppage of garbage hauling and sorting activities conducted by Baguio City’s private hauler in Sitio Lamtang.
The city mayor issued a letter addressed to the La Trinidad City Council last Tuesday including Tabanda explaining the emergency of hauling the trash in a private property leased by its private hauler Mark Anthony Camilo after the city’s staging area in Irisan Lime Kiln was marked by protests from students of the Philippine Science High School-CAR who complained of stench coming from the facility.
He explained that the City Government first accomplished its contract with the private property owner and the permit of non-coverage from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) before going to the town.
“It is only natural that we will first talk with the private property owner and then work out the permit with DENR. It is useless that we will talk with them first because it is an emergency and I know they will understand,” he said.
This as he said that La Trinidad residents have also been contributing to Baguio’s daily solid waste problems adding it is about time they should also cooperate and help the city.
He said it is not of disrespect to the town officials as they recognize La Trinidad municipal government’s jurisdiction of the area but he stressed that less than 1,000 square meter property leased out by its private hauler is a private property and not public land.
The mayor said only non-biodegradable wastes will be sorted, compacted and transferred out of the facility within 24 hours to be dumped in the Urdaneta City landfill.
The mayor said the city’s use of a private lot in Sitio Lamtang last week after several weeks of search for a transfer and sorting site near Baguio City.
Tabanda, however, stressed they should have been contacted by Baguio officials prior to dumping activities which may be against their land use and zoning activities notwithstanding the environmental impact of the facility.
Puguis barangay officials have also rejected the area’s use as Baguio’s garbage staging facility and denied issuing certification for the use of the property despite claims of the city they have obtained the barangay permission.
“The city will not be renting out and spending for lease of the place, it will be shouldered by the private hauler. Our only obligation is to help them secure the necessary permits,” General Services Office head Romeo Concio said.
Concio, however, admitted that the private hauler will still have to secure a business permit among other required permits from La Trinidad municipality.
“The agreement is that there will be no storage of trash for more than 24 hours. Garbage will not be stored there. It will only be our staging area before we move the sorted trash to the Urdaneta City Engineered Sanitary Landfill,” he stressed.
The city has been using the Irisan Lime Kiln property as its garbage staging area for more than a year after the city was prevented from using portions of the Irisan dumpsite as its transfer and sorting facility with the issuance of a Writ of Kalikasan filed by Tuba residents as a result of the trash slide that killed several residents during the height of Typhoon Mina in 2011.