A HOMEOWNERS association, whose members are families of active and retired military personnel, objected to the construction of a materials recovery facility (MRF) in barangay Apas, Cebu City.
In a letter to Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, the Central Command, AFP Families of Active and Retired Military Personnel Homeowners Association (CFARMCHAI) said the operation of the MRF will pose serious health risks to their community.
The MRF to be built at the Grotto View Park in sitio Upper Panabang in barangay Apas is jointly undertaken by barangay Apas and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional office.
The letter signed by Maria Morilia Lepiten, chairperson of the CFARMCHAI board of directors, was also sent to barangay Apas chairman Ramil Ayuman, the office of Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III and the Solid Waste Management Board.
DENR-7 spokesman Eddie Llamedo said barangay Apas should conduct a public hearing on the case.
He said an MRF is only a temporary holding area to segregate garbage.
“In Cebu City, MRF is really needed and we encourage the establishment of the facility to reduce the volume of garbage now that the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill has been closed already,” he said.
Ayuman said the barangay followed requirements under the law in building the facility.
He said they even asked permission from the Central Command that owns the lot to use it for the MRF. Ayuman said Lepiten is not a resident of sitio Upper Panabang because she resides in sitio Mahayahay.