ILOILO – The Iloilo provincial government has augmented P10 million to the local government unit (LGU) of Maasin for its Solid Waste Management Program, particularly on the construction of a sanitary landfill.
Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office (PGENRO) Supervising Environmental Management Specialist Mitzi Peñaflorida said the fund is the province’s counterpart, while the remaining fund for the facility’s completion shall be shouldered by the Maasin LGU.
“This is for the establishment of a landfill in Maasin; although this is not enough, dugangan lang sang LGU ang fund,” Peñaflorida told Panay News.
The to-be-constructed sanitary landfill in Maasin is a Category 1 facility with the capacity to cater to 15 tons of waste disposal per day.
Existing sanitary landfills in Iloilo are located in Lambunao town and Passi City.
This complies with Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, which prefers sanitary landfills over open dumps for solid waste.
It defines a sanitary landfill as “a waste disposal site designed, constructed, operated, and maintained in a manner that exerts engineering control over significant potential environmental impacts arising from the development and operation of the facility.”
On the other hand, it defines an “open dump” as “a disposal area wherein the solid wastes are indiscriminately thrown or disposed of without due planning and consideration for environmental and health standards.”
Several LGUs enter into a memorandum of agreement with the P408-million Integrated Waste Management Facility or sanitary landfill in Passi City to dispose of their waste in the facility — San Joaquin, Tigbauan, Oton, Igbaras, Tubungan, Zarraga, Sta. Barbara, San Miguel, New Lucena, Pavia, Leon, Leganes, Alimodian, Badiangan, Bingawan, Cabatuan, Calinog, Janiuay, Mina, Pototan, Anilao, Banate, Dingle, Dumangas, Barotac Nuevo, Dueñas, San Enrique, San Dionisio, San Rafael, Concepcion, Carles, Barotac Viejo, Balasan, Batad, Sara, Lemery, Ajuy, and Passi City.
Peñaflorida disclosed that among the challenges in establishing a sanitary landfill are community acceptance, choosing the appropriate site or area, and funding.
Even Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. has admitted that the fairly large budgetary requirement and how people perceive sanitary landfills are the two main reasons why LGUs cannot easily construct their sanitary landfills.
During his father’s term as governor, according to Defensor, the PGENRO proposed one sanitary landfill for each of Iloilo’s five congressional districts.
But this did not materialize, he said, because the residents of areas where sanitary landfills were proposed to be established protested.
“Pila ka banwa sina ang nag-trabaho nga indi nila mapatuman because of opposition. Ang mga tawo indi sila gusto nga the solid waste from other municipalities will be brought to their municipality,” said Defensor.
The LGUs identified by the PGENRO back then as possible hosts of the proposed district sanitary landfills were the following:
* 1st District – Miag-ao
* 2nd District – San Miguel
* 3rd District – Janiuay
* 4th District – Passi City
* 5th District – San Rafael
According to Defensor, the financial assistance given to LGUs that planned to build their sanitary landfills was returned to the provincial government due to the unavailability of sites and social unacceptability.
This may be the situation, but the province continues to extend technical assistance through PGENRO to LGUs, such as conducting lectures to make the community more open to the idea.
Defensor explained that sanitary landfills are not mere waste disposal sites; the facility has several components and technicalities that make it expensive.
“Sanitary landfill, it’s not just a dump site. May technical na sia nga features and we assist our municipalities in the development,” the governor added./PN
