BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A “cease and desist” order has been issued by Mayor Miguel Antonio Peña against a property owner in Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, for operating an open dumpsite, with the garbage being dumped allegedly originating from a neighboring local government unit.
During a joint ocular inspection of Mila Lourdes Tandoy, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer and concurrent Municipal Health Office Sanitary Inspector, and Shellamite Labrador, Provincial Environment Monitoring Officer of Environment Management Bureau – Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Peña said they discovered that a government-owned dump truck entered and unloaded garbage, including what appeared to be medical waste, at the property of Novo Torres on September 1 in Brgy. Palaka Sur, Pulupandan.
Prior to the inspection, the mayor said they have received numerous reports that dump trucks, with markings of being a government vehicle, entered the property loaded with garbage and left without their cargo. He also stressed that the owner has no business permit to operate a dumpsite.
Peña, in his letter to Torres, disclosed that operating an open dumpsite is a violation of Republic Act 9003, known as the Ecological Solid Waste Program.
Tandoy said their investigations showed that Torres is a contractor and supplier of the municipal government of San Enrique.
She claimed that Byron Ignalage, a staff member at the San Enrique Mayor’s Office, made an arrangement with Torres for the garbage of San Enrique to be dumped at his property.
Tandoy added that garbage has been unloaded twice or thrice a week at the open dump site since December last year.
Allen Rodrigo, barangay chairman of Palaka Sur in Pulupandan, said also he received complaints from a Sonya Galimba on littered plastic bags being blown into her rice fields, thought to be coming from the dump site.
Due to the hazardous nature of the waste and garbage, Peña said he ordered the property to stop the operations of illegal dump site, as directed in the issued “cease and desist” order, while investigations are ongoing.
“Due to the hazardous nature of the waste/garbage for the safety of Pulupandan residents, you are prohibited to remove the same, and your property shall be closed to the public, while we explore the proper disposal methods, which shall be charged to you,” the mayor, in his letter to Torres, dated Sept. 2, said.
Noting the attempt of property owner employees to cover the garbage of the open dumpsite, Peña warned them “tampering with your open dumpsite will result to additional or higher penalties.”
On other hand, Tandoy said that the municipal government of Pulupandan is willing the assist the San Enrique local government unit by returning their garbage via RTS (Return To Sender).*
