Navotas dumpsite gets Council nod

The Navotas municipal council has passed a resolution granting a private hauling contractor the franchise to operate and manage a controlled dump facility in a reclaimed area in Barangay Tanza.

The granting of the franchise to the Philippine Ecology Corp. (Phileco) to operate the new dumpsite, some four kilometers away from the nearest residential area as environmental engineers claimed, signaled the imminent opening of the controlled garbage facility which was the brainchild of Mayor Toby Tiangco in his bid to make Navotas a garbage-free zone.

Resolution No. 2002-04 was signed unanimously by 15 council members led by Vice Mayor Lutgardo Cruz, presiding officer of the Sangguniang Bayan, and approved by Tiangco.

Navotas granted the franchise to Phileco after the mayor himself obtained a clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to operate the facility found in an idle fishpond area in Barangay Tanza.

Although there was no mention of other contractors which offered to manage the dumpsite, the council was apparently convinced that Phileco’s proposals were in compliance with DENR’s conditions to operate the facility. Armed with a resolution from the barangay council of Tanza allowing the construction of the controlled garbage site, Tiangco said the council resolution was made after a series of public hearings attended by affected residents, who, he said, posed no objection.

Tiangco defended the controlled waste disposal facility saying that Navotas stands to benefit in terms of revenues from tipping fees and savings amounting to some P30-million. – Jerry Botial