Calls for extension of Kalangitan utilization
CAPAS, Tarlac – For lack of an offer for an “alternative” waste facility, the local government of Capas said that it may file a case against the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) if they will close the Kalangitan Sanitary Landfill in October.
According to Capas Mayor Roseller B. Rodriguez, “the Municipality is studying legal options in
averting the cessation of operations of the sanitary landfill in Sitio Kalangitan.”
Earlier, the BCDA and CDC said they will proceed with the closure of the waste facility that is serving more than 120 LGUs in Central Luzon, and parts of Pangasinan and Benguet.
” We are contemplating to file a case, if we find sufficient legal basis, and seek the issuance of a Writ of Kalikasan because the closure of the landfill may cause disaster in our waste management and there are no clear guidelines on how the area will be decommissioned as a landfill,” said Mayor Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, supported by the Capas SB, has urged the BCDA and CDC to extend the utilization of the Kalangitan Sanitary Landfill, noting the immediate effect of its “closure will be confronted with the problem of waste management not only in Capas but the whole Central Luzon and parts of Northern Luzon regions.”
“There is not a single sanitary landfill that is compliant and could accommodate the daily waste disposal of both regions. It will definitely take years before such a facility could efficiently accommodate such huge tonnage and volume of daily wastes”, Rodriguez stressed.
“The collateral effect of this irresponsible and disjointed plan of BCDA is we will be losing revenue amounting to more or less P25M a year in terms of taxes and internal revenue allotments derived from the operations of the landfill including savings in waste management disposal expenses”.
During Monday’s hearing at the Capas Sangguniang Bayan, the BCDA represented by a certain Daryll Garcia had no clear alternative to the impending closure of the Kalangitan Sanitary Landfill. The CDC, who did not have a representative in the said hearing, had signed the 25-year contract with the MCWMC for the operation of the Kalangitan Sanitary Landfill.
“As our Municipality will be necessitated to explore alternative waste disposal solutions, we will be facing formidable obstacles in identifying alternative disposal sites compliant with environmental regulations, particularly Republic Act 9003. This solution will certainly demand substantial financial investments andl ogistical arrangements. These projected consequences will undoubtedly impact our municipal budget and necessitate adjustments in financial planning and resource allocation,” the mayor said.
Earlier, more than 122 LGUs in Central Luzon specifically from Bataan, Benguet, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, and parts of Pangasinan and Benguet, said the closure of the Kalangitan Sanitary Landfill which is being operated by the Metro Clark Waste Management Corporation’s (MCWMC), will surely cause “severe environmental and health and crisis.”
MCWMC’s engineered sanitary landfill in Kalangitan currently caters to more than 160 local government units (cities and municipalities) in Central Luzon including a few key cities and provinces of Northern Luzon.
Millions of residents in both of these regions who currently benefits on the presence of an engineered waste disposal facility that they can call their own—will soon face a widespread garbage crisis that would quickly result in sanitation and health problems including environmental issues.
Waste disposals of nearly all business establishments including malls, hospitals, industries operating in cities and provinces in Central Luzon are being serviced by the Kalangitan landfill.
Mayor Rodriguez, who attended the SB hearing, said there was apparently “lack of planning” on the part of the BCDA and CDC.
“It is not a question of whether BCDA or CDC is anti-progress but it’s a question of lack of planning or mispriority of program,” according to Mayor Rodriguez.
He said the “BCDA or CDC cannot justify why they are closing the landfill “because until now wala naman sila sinasabi specific project ano ang gagawin sa area.”
The local chief executive said “there is proponent who intends to build a landfill in Barangay Bueno but the problem is — at present Brgy Bueno is classified under our CLUP as an agro-tourism area.”
More than 5,000 tons of wastes are being brought on a daily basis to the first engineered and environmentally compliant sanitary landfill in the country.
Pampanga News Now tried to reach BCDA for comments, but said they have yet to issue an official statement.
