Binaliw residents have sought the help of Cebu City Hall officials to stop the operation of a landfill in their community. | Photo courtesy of Ramil Ayuman
CEBU CITY, Philippines –Cebu City Mayor elect Edgaro Labella will be asking the help of some lawyers and environmentalists to review the city’s existing contract with the operator of a sanitary landfill in the mountain barangay of Binaliw.
Labella said that while he respects the city’s garbage collection and disposal contract with ARN Builders, there was also a need to look into its suitability and acceptability.
He said that operating a sanitary landfill does not seem suited in Barangay Binaliw which is a densely populated area with some farmlands. Farmers there grow agricultural products, mangoes and even flowers.
Labella said that having a landfill in the mountains of Cebu City is also questionable because the city has at least 28 of its 80 barangays that depend on farming.
“Considering that there is a contract and there are legal ramifications for such, I will have a committee (created) to look into this contract,” Labella said in an interview this morning, May 29.
Labella said he is creating a committee that will consist of lawyers and environmentalists to review the contract which outgoing Mayor Tomas Osmeña entered into with ARN Builders early this year.
If possible, Labella wanted the terms of the contract amended, if not rescinded, to appease Binaliw and other mountain barangay residents.
He also expressed sadness as to why neighboring localities like Mandaue City were allowed to also dispose their garbage in the area prompting complaints from Binaliw residents who earlier signed a petition seeking to stop the landfill’s operation.
On May 27, members of the Binali barangay council asked the Environment Management Bureau in Central Visayas (EMB-7) to investigate the landfill’s operation since the foul smell that it emits was already causing respiratory illness among their constituents.
They also noted an increase in flies and other vectors in their community.
Council members further alleged that the landfill’s operation was contrary to ARN Builder’s earlier claims that they are building a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in the area./dcb