City lawyers to council:Probe garbage dumping in Zapatera

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Legal Office has recommended that the City Council investigate the workers of Barangay Zapatera who were seen throwing unsegregated garbage in a vacant lot along General Echavez Street.

Upon the order of Mayor Edgardo Labella, City Attorney Rey Gealon said his office submitted yesterday the legal opinion to the City Council for its appropriate action on the matter.

“The vehicle used by the men bearing plate number SKV 301 has been identified as the barangay’s mobile service vehicle based on the citation ticket issued on July 18 against Barangay Zapatera Captain Francisco Benedicto and Joseph Arnejo for a separate incident of littering within the premises of their barangay hall,” Gealon said.

Labella said he will not tolerate barangay workers who violate national and local laws, including the law on sanitation. He added that barangays should cooperation with the city in this thrust.

In his legal opinion, Gealon said the indiscriminate dumping of unsegregated garbage would constitute violations of Section 48 for littering and Section 48 (9) for open dumping under the Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act and the city’s Ordinance 1361 or the Anti-Littering Ordinance and City Ordinance 2031 or the No Segregation, No Collection of Garbage ordinance.

Gealon said the law prohibits throwing of garbage to a vacant lot and that violators can be fined P500,000 plus an amount not less than 5 percent but not more than 10 percent of the net annual income of the local government units or any person, as provided under RA 9003.

In a letter to City Environment and Natural Resources Office, Benedicto justified that the vacant lot along General Echavez Street was the barangay’s “temporary garbage pickup point area.”

Benedicto further said in the letter that the area serves as a holding point for the garbage until they are collected by the City’s Department of Public Services.

But Gealon said a “pickup point area” is similar to a transfer station, which is defined by the law as “facilities utilized to receive solid wastes, temporarily store, separate, convert, or otherwise process the materials in the solid wastes, or to transfer the solid wastes directly from smaller to larger vehicles for transport.”

Gealon said the vacant lot must qualify as a transfer station, according to the guidelines set forth under the law.

“Lastly, operation of a transfer station would require an Environmental Compliance Certificate as well as compliance with other requirements of the law, otherwise, the storing of the collected garbage in the vacant lot even if for less than twenty-four hours would still constitute as open dumping,” he added.

Gealon asked the council’s committee on laws, ordinances, and styling to investigate the matter as soon as the legislative body convenes next month. – KBQ (FREEMAN)