AKLAN – Several individuals decried what they claimed was the lack of public consultation by the local government unit (LGU) of Malay, Aklan that decided to allow adjoining municipalities to dispose their garbage to the town’s sanitary landfill.
The Sangguniang Bayan (SB) on Nov. 11, 2021 authorized Malay acting mayor Frolibar Bautista to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with Nabas mayor James Solanoy on the disposal of Nabas’ residual waste int Malay’s landfill.
“Considering that the municipality of Nabas has no operational sanitary landfill, they are requesting that they be allowed to dispose their residual waste at the Malay sanitary landfill,” the resolution stated.
The LGU of Nabas will be paying Malay.
The sanitary landfill in Barangay Kabulihan, Malay is the only engineered landfill in Aklan. To date, it accommodates some 40 tons of municipal solid waste from Boracay Island.
Gil Delos Santos, a resort operator, slammed the scant regard for community consultation and engagement. He also warned of possible adverse impacts of the waste dumping arrangement to the health of the people in Barangay Cabulihan and to the ecosystem.
“There is a rage against the move from Malaynons, especially residents of Cabulihan where the landfill is located. Public consultation is not much of a practice around here when it comes to critical issues affecting the community,” posted Delos Santos on Facebook on Dec. 14.
On Facebook, a netizen asked: “Why can’t Nabas town build their own sanitary landfill? They have greater land area than Malay. Is Nabas town richer than Malay to be able to pay their garbage haulers and dump sites in Malay?”
Also on Facebook, SB member Christine Hope Pagsuguiron objected, noting, that additional residual waste can harm a nearby river, and not only public health./PN
