Inayawan landfill dev’t continues despite lot ownership claim; permanent fence to enclose area

Scavengers are seen inside the Inayawan landfill in this file photo.
CDN FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) continues to close the Inayawan landfill through a permanent fence despite the question of the landfill’s ownership.

Cenro Head, Nida Cabrera, told Cebu Daily News Digital in a phone interview on Sunday, February 17,  that Full Advantage Philippines Inc., the contractor for the development of the landfill, would continue the clearing of the landfill as the first step in the process of the rehabilitation.

The clearing was never stopped since the issue on the ownership surfaced and so was the planning for the development of an eco-park in the area.

“The area is a landfill and has been owned by the city sukad pa sa una. Bahala na ang legal team ana basta kay kami amo ifollow ang Writ of Kalikasan gikan sa Supreme Court,” said Cabrera in a phone interview.

The Writ of Kalikasan was issued by the Supreme Court on October 2016 after Councilor Joel Garganera filed a petition against the city government for the reopening of the Inayawan landfill, which he argued was causing environmental damage.

Recently, Francisco Fernandez, the executive assistant of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, said that they discovered a title that showed the ownership of the 15-hectare landfill was, in fact, held by a certain Renato Senining, who also owned other properties in the area.

Fernandez said that the Senining surfaced when he filed for a tax declaration at the City Assesor’s Office and claiming ownership of the property that had since been in the city’s hand for the last 47 years.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña already filed an adverse claim before the Cebu City’s Registry of Deeds for revision of the title since the city had owned the property since ‘time immemorial,’ and they were making plans to make representations before the Office of the Solicitor General.

He said they were also waiting for the results of the investigation on the matter.

Meanwhile, the Cenro continues to see through the plans for the rehabilitation including the construction of the a 4-meter tall perimeter fence surrounding the area in order to contain the garbage inside the landfill.

She said that if the garbage would not be contained, the spilling of garbage would continue to be a problem during the development.

This move was criticized by Garganera on Friday, February 15, as he said that the P36 million worth concrete fence was just a waste of money since it would not serve any purpose in the development especially if after the development, it would only be taken down.

“Dili nalang nila usik-usikan ang P36 million budget samot na run nga giquestion na ang ownership niini,” said Garganera.

Cabrera said that the permanent fence was necessary to secure the area for further development including the building of a new drainage systems.

She said that the perimeter fence would most likely be cheaper now that the it is only 4 meters high compared to its previous height at six meters. /dbs