RESIDENTS around the sanitary landfill in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City, called on the local officials to address the foul smell coming from the garbage.
Bebing Leogan, president of the homeowner’s association near the Binaliw Sanitary Landfill, said in a phone interview on Monday, Aug. 19, that the foul smell, as in a dead animal’s smell, continues to occur, especially when it rains.
She added that the foul odor usually occurs at night.
Leogan said that their neighborhood is just one kilometer away from the landfill.
She said that they earlier asked the officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and ARN Central Inc., which manages the landfill, to address their concerns, but there was no action.
“Ingon man sila nga mupatawag og balik, pero wala naman sukad pa ato (They said they would meet again, but nothing happened after that),” Leogan said.
Leogan said that there was a time when their hanged clothes were swarmed with big flies, locally known as lagom.
When they showed the video to the DENR, the agency allegedly opined that the video may be edited, she said.
“Naay times nga ang imong sud-an imo gyung paningkamotan nga matabonan kay og di, masudlan gyud og langaw (There are times that you need to cover your meals because if not, flies will swarm your food),” said Leogan.
Dar Omandam, a resident of Woodland Subdivision in Barangay Binaliw, said in a media interview on Aug. 19, that, until now, the foul smell persists.
“Until now, baho lang gihapon. Bahong dunot, nya usahay bahong tae (It still smells bad. It smells rotten, sometimes it smells feces),” said Omandam.
Omandam said that the foul smell gets worse when it rains.
For his part, Cebu City Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said in a press conference on Monday, Aug. 19, that he cannot comment yet since he has not received any reports.
“I cannot comment, except that if naay mga reklamo then atong paminawon ang mga reklamante and then of course, we will have a public hearing (if there are complaints, then we will listen to them),” said Garcia.
“We will ask the different head agencies if there have been complaints, like the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), DOST (Department of Science and Technology), and of course, sa ato sang Cenro (City Environment and Natural Resources Office),” added Garcia.