Ombudsman orders probe of Rizal landfill mess
The Office of the Ombudsman yesterday ordered an immediate investigation into the alleged misuse of the income generated from the Rodriguez landfill by the local government.
The operator of the newly opened 19-hectare landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal said the other day that he is seeking a Senate inquiry to expose the alleged misuse by the local government of the P900 million it generated from the six-year operation of its adjacent 14-hectare landfill.
In an exclusive interview, Assistant Ombudsman Mark Jalandoni confirmed over the phone that they have started an investigation moto proprio yesterday after reading The STAR’s banner article.
“She (Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez) already ordered an investigation (on the landfill controversy),” Jalandoni said.
“She ordered Atty. Caesar Asuncion, OIC-Director for Field Investigation Office of the Office of the Ombudsman, to start the investigation today (Monday),” said Jalandoni, who clarified that no formal complaint has yet been filed before the Ombudsman’s Office as of yesterday afternoon.
Normally, the field investigation team would include in their report to the Ombudsman the complaint filed as well as all supporting documents needed for the investigation.
Aside from the complaint, the Ombudsman will likely look into the contract. They would also conduct investigation and interviews of people involved in the case.
Jalandoni said they could not set a timetable for this, but assured the public that the Ombudsman has made this a priority case.
“This is of priority concern, due to health reasons, not only for the people of Rizal, but for the whole Metro Manila,” said Jalandoni.
Cuerpo hits back
Meanwhile, Montalban Mayor Pedro Cuerpo branded yesterday as mere “dirty tricks” the “wild accusations” of the operator of the newly opened 19-hectare landfill that the local government had misused the P900-million income from the six-year operation of its adjacent 14-hectare landfill.
Cuerpo said that Solid Waste Integrated Management Specialist Inc. (SWIMS) was just resorting to “squid tactics” after the new landfill was found “faulty and deficient and did not have a single legal license, permit or authorization from the municipal government and the required environmental clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).”
“These same people also lied to secure a closure order from (Rizal) Gov. Casimiro Ynares III and the provincial board by claiming that the Montalban landfill has been fully utilized and posed danger to residents in the area,” he told a breakfast forum at the Manila Hotel.
He assured that the P900-million income went to the town’s coffers with proper auditing and accounting procedures.
SWIMS lawyer Andy Santiago is seeking a Senate inquiry into the alleged misuse of the P900-million earnings, claiming that Cuerpo was “moving heaven and earth” to keep the landfill which he described as a “family business.”
Cuerpo had challenged SWIMS to also have their records checked as the firm earned much more than the town government did from the landfill.
“If the local government earned P900 million for the last six years, their earnings was three times higher. Under the arrangement, if we were earning P150 million a year, the developer was earning P450 million,” he noted in Filipino.
He maintained that he is willing to show the town’s accounting books but SWIMS must do the same thing.
“Who knows, they might not be paying the right taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue. I’m glad that this issue has been raised. Their records must also be open to scrutiny,” he added.
Cuerpo said that his lawyers are now studying the possible legal actions they could take against SWIMS, which used to be Cuerpo’s partner in the operation of the 14-hectare Montalban Solid Waste Disposal Facility (MSWDF) in Barangay San Isidro.
But the landfill was closed by virtue of a provincial board resolution, claiming that it was already filled up.
Cuerpo added that the joint inspection conducted by the National Solid Waste Management Commission Secretariat and LGU-Rodriguez officials last Oct. 1 and 4 at the MSWDF facility has certified that there is “an adequate amount of unfilled area to accommodate the solid waste from Metro Manila and other towns of Rizal with an estimated lifespan of two years and two months as of October 2007.”
He underscored that the 14-hectare sanitary landfill that the provincial government closed and the illegal 19-hectare garbage dump they wanted to open have a common operator – SWIMS in a joint venture with Persan Construction Corp. and A.L. Salazar Construction, owned and operated by Reynaldo Perez, Abelardo Salazar and Dennis Sandil.
“All along the leadership of the
Senator Legarda steps in
At the Senate, Sen. Loren Legarda reminded yesterday local government units (LGUs) of their shared responsibility in ensuring the proper management of waste under the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (Republic Act 9003), which she authored during the 12th Congress.
Legarda issued the statement expressing dismay over the widening rift between the
In response to the clamor by the contractor of the Rodriguez landfill for the Senate to step into the matter, Legarda said that any congressional probe should focus on whether the provisions of RA 9003 are being strictly followed.
The contractor has alleged that the earnings generated through the years by the original dumpsite in Rodriguez had been misused.
“The garbage issue transcends money as it imperils the environment and the health of our people. Just the same, the Senate is ready to hear any allegation of funds misuse, if there is any,” she said.
SWIMS lawyer
According to Legarda, the contending local government officials in Rodriguez have a shared responsibility in promoting proper solid waste management.
She cited paragraph “G,” Article I Section 2 of RA 9003 which states that the primary responsibility in solid waste management remains with local LGUs, in cooperation with the national government, other LGUs, non-government organizations and the private sector.
Last August, Legarda backed an initiative by the Ombudsman and a non-profit foundation to regularly check if government agencies and LGUs are fully implementing the country’s environmental laws.
Legarda said that the environmental compliance audit to be conducted by the Ombudsman should spur LGUs and other government agencies to do their share in protecting the environment.
She however lamented that in the seven years since the passage of RA 9003, many government officials are still ignoring the provisions of the law.
Legarda filed a solid waste management bill upon her election to the Senate in 1998, but it took the Payatas dumpsite tragedy to convince Congress to finally pass it into law in 2000.
RA 9003 calls for the utilization of environmentally sound methods to maximize utilization of resources and reduce production of garbage. It encourages waste volume reduction through garbage minimization measures, including composting, recycling, re-use and recovery.
In the meantime, Malacañang called on LGUs and communities to comply with the laws on waste management to prevent a garbage crisis and protect the environment.
Secretary to the Cabinet Ricardo Saludo cited RA 9003 that places waste management under the primary responsibility of local government units. – With Sheila Crisostomo, Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero
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