THE Davao City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) calls on private landowners anew to secure necessary permits for digging landfills within their lands.
“Kay usually man gud mobungkag sila sa iyahang yuta, because nanag-iya sa yuta, mo-bungkag sila. Dili nagpasabot man gud na ilahang yuta, because imohang gitandog ang original nga form [sa yuta] ang atong istoryahan, kinahanglan ta manguhag permit… labi na especially [makaapekto sa] kinaiyahan (Usually landowners dig their land thinking that they can do it even without necessary permit because they own the land. But it doesn’t mean that you own the land you don’t need a permit to do it. Because you are deforming the land, you are affecting the environment),” Cenro head Marivic Reyes said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio on October 17.
Most illegal landfills can be found in remote areas in the city. Reyes said illegal landfills are still the main concerns of Cenro, thus they strengthen monitoring of these areas. She also urged barangay officials to help them monitor as well.
“Dagko pod gyu’g role ang barangay, because isa sa mga requirements para ma-okay-han ilang mga permit is naay resolution, issuehan silag resolution sa barangay, so sila mismo unta una maka-monitor (The barangay also has a big role in monitoring their areas for illegal landfills, because one of the requirements to get their permits is to have a barangay resolution, the barangay will issue a resolution, so they could have monitored illegal diggings),” Reyes said.
Meanwhile, to address the mounting daily volume of waste, the City Government of Davao is developing a newly-purchased lot beside the current sanitary landfill in Barangay New Carmen, Tugbok District, as bared by Sangguniang Panlungsod committee on environment and natural resources chairperson Councilor Tek Ocampo.
According to Ocampo, the city government has recently purchased a piece of land adjacent to the current dumpsite. He mentioned that they are currently developing this new facility, which will include storage for hazardous and infectious wastes.
Once the new facility is completed and operational, it is expected to greatly enhance the city's solid waste management. This is particularly important as the city generates a substantial amount of garbage, ranging from 700 to 800 tons per day. (ICE with reports from CIO)