Labella on use of Binaliw Landfill:Only for Cebu City

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City government has ordered ARN Central Waste Management Inc., the operator of the landfill in Barangay Binaliw, not to accept garbage from other cities and municipalities.

“With a very categorical request to them not to allow other local government units to dump garbage in Binaliw. That’s very categorical,” Mayor Edgardo Labella told the FREEMAN.

The landfill in Binaliw has accommodated trash from Mandaue City and the towns of Lilo-an, Compostela, and Cordova.

It received at least 300 tons and up to 500 tons of garbage every day from these local government units after the private landfill in the Consolacion was closed down for reportedly violating environmental laws.

ARN President and Executive Director Sherwin Santos was unavailable for comment as of yesterday.

Labella said he believes the city’s decision will not result to a “garbage crisis” among the other LGUs.

“I don’t think so. We are more concerned of our own,” he said.

City Administrator Floro Casas, Jr. said the city is giving the other LGUs until July 30 to look for an alternative dumpsite.

“Naa na tay agreement with Binaliw nga ang other LGUs dili na sila molabay sa Binaliw in the next few days kay mao ang direction ni mayor nga dili siya mosugot nga ang Cebu City himoon og labayanan sa other LGUs (We have reached an agreement with ARN that the landfill in Binaliw should not accommodate trash from other LGUs because the mayor does not want Cebu City to be the dumping ground of trash from other LGUs),” Casas said.

The city and ARN have also agreed to rescind the P65 million contract for garbage disposal pending resolutions of legal and environmental issues about the landfill.

He said ARN does not have a problem with the movement and the city is now preparing to cancel the contract, especially that the money has not yet been utilized.

The city’s Department of Public Services is using the city’s garbage trucks, barangay garbage trucks, and other vehicles to collect garbage, for now.

The trash from the city’s streets and houses will be dumped at the transfer station at the sanitary landfill in Barangay Inayawan.

It will be the city’s hauling service provider, Jomara Konstruckt Incorporated, that will choose the landfill to which it will bring the garbage.

Casas said Jomara has been dumping garbage to the landfill in Binaliw and since landfill will not be closed, the company may still dump the garbage there.

Casas said the city will rebid the P65 million garbage disposal contract or might do an emergency purchase so as not to stop the collection and disposal of garbage.

Meanwhile, Labella asked Association of Barangay Councils - Cebu City Chapter President Franklyn Ong to help the city in collecting trash especially from the interior portions of the barangays.

“As the new administration sets in, we have received numerous complaints about garbage collection from the different barangays in the city,” Labella said.

He said the DPS teams will collect garbage from the streets while barangay personnel will collect the trash from the interior portions.

Ong said earlier that all 80 barangays will assist the city in addressing the garbage problem. —  JMO (FREEMAN)