‘Does City Hall have rehab, closure plans for landfill?’

Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera wants to know if Cebu City Hall has post-closure and rehabilitation plans for the Inayawan landfill more than a month after it reopened.

Garganera, who heads the committee on environment, wants both the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Health (DOH) to look into the legality and concerns on the reopening of the landfill.

He also wants former councilor Nida Cabrera, who used to head the committee on environment, and John Gelasque of the Department of Public Services (DPS) to attend an executive session on August 16 to discuss the issue.

“I would like to know, as much as the people of Cebu would want to know, if there has been a post-closure rehabilitation plan and proposal for reopening presented? Will these plans ensure the safety and security of the residents surrounding the landfill?” Garganera asked in a privilege speech he delivered during the council’s regular session yesterday afternoon.

He cited a newspaper article quoting DENR-7 spokesperson Eddie Llamedo as saying that they have to thoroughly evaluate the proposal to reopen the landfill and look at the post-closure plan as well as its reopening plan.

The Inayawan landfill was opened by Mayor Tomas Osmeña last June, more than a year after it was ordered closed by former mayor Michael Rama in January 2015.

Osmeña raised concern on the tipping fees that the city paid to the private landfill in Consolacion and the absence of a contract between the facility and City Hall.

“However, is this reasonable enough to reopen the Inayawan landfill that will surely disrupt the lifestyle of the residents and establishments surrounding it?” Garganera said in his speech.

He said the landfill, which was opened in 1998, was supposed to be only good for seven years and should be closed by 2005.

In 2011, the city government ordered the partial closure of the facility and started transporting wastes to the private landfill in Consolacion.

Garganera said it was Cabrera who strongly pushed for the landfill’s closure, saying that it violated the Solid Waste Management Act and that it has toxic components like mercury, cadmium and other hazardous substances.

“Ironically, it is the same Nida Cabrera that supported the reopening of the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill this year. We would like to inquire as to why, after demanding the closure of the Inayawan landfill for years, did former councilor Cabrera suddenly support its reopening?” Garganera said.