The issuance of a Writ of Kalikasan by the Court of Appeals against the Cebu City government that effectively ordered the closure of the Inayawan landfill came weeks after Environment Secretary Gina Lopez wanted it closed due to the health risks it poses to the surrounding communities and the environment.
I would like to congratulate Councilor Joel Garganera for being so courageous in articulating the voice of the people and for taking the role in protecting their interests and welfare.
Now the city is temporarily dumping the garbage in an open space at the South Road Properties (SRP) as a transfer station. And many asked, why at the SRP?
Well I think it is because Mayor Tomas Osmeña happens to be mad at the investors of the SRP and this is his way to spite them. And it is difficult to fathom the mayor’s reason why he’s doing it.
The next question that the city government should answer is for how long will the garbage stay at the SRP? Lawyer Benjamin Cabrido (Mandaue City Hall’s environmental consultant) said the law is clear that any garbage stored in a transfer station is allowed only 24 hours, but the city is now saying the garbage will stay between 4 to 6 days.
I am confident that the environmentalists will take up the cudgels for the city residents and they would challenge anew the latest position taken by the city government.
I think the city should look for a better place to dump its garbage, and definitely, it should not be in a public open space like the SRP.
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Mayor Osmeña is certainly asking for it when his predecessor Michael Rama threatened to file libel charges against him due to his baseless accusations that he allegedly received P10 million from Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz, the slain drug lord of Barangay Duljo Fatima.
Osmeña repeatedly accused Rama of having ties with Jaguar without presenting any hard evidence to back his accusation.
The libel case filed by Rama would now give the mayor the opportunity to prove his accusation against Rama. Remember it is so easy to accuse any person of wrongdoing, but it is so hard to prove it.
Rama is also entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise. I think the mayor should welcome the libel case filed by Rama to prove his accusation which are basically devoid of logic and common sense.
Jaguar was a resident of Duljo Fatima, and in the elections Rama never won against Osmeña. In fact, it was Osmeña who announced that Jaguar offered him P5 million as a campaign fund; thus, it is Osmeña who has contact with Jaguar.
Many are hoping that Osmeña would be man enough to prove his accusation in the court case filed by Rama so he would stop engaging in gossips.