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Environmentalists held a press conference today to rail against the proliferation of landfills in provinces adjacent Metro Manila. These two projects are the Rizal Sanitary Landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal and Wacuman Sanitary Landfill in Norzagaray, Bulacan located in La Mesa Dam watershed and Ipo Dam watershed, respectively.

In addition to the landfill projects being socially unacceptable, there are also some irregularities and anomalies in how they were permitted to operate by corresponding government units.

“In the guise of solving the waste problem in Metro Manila, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and some local government officials are now posing to make millions of bucks from construction and operation of defective sanitary landfills. The availability of funds from the national government and the lucrative tipping cost of garbage from Metro Manila is a big incentive to corrupt government officials,” said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of environmental activist group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment.

Based on records of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), there are 16 existing sanitary landfills in the country. In addition, there are 19 landfill sites, which have already been issued environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) and undergoing construction.

There are also identified landfills that will be constructed in the municipalities of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, in San Mateo, Rizal and in Ternate, Cavite, all of which are located in watersheds or forest areas.

“As Metro Manila tries to resolve its perennial problem on garbage, more and more communities and environmentally critical areas outside the sprawling metropolis have been marked as dumping grounds for an estimated 8,000 tons of waste generated daily. However, these so-called ‘sanitary landfills’ have various flaws and irregularities, which ranges from technical feasibility, environmental and health safety, to kickbacks and corruption,” Mr. Bautista pointed out.

One case in point is the 380 million pesos San Mateo Landfill project in San Mateo, Rizal. According to Engineer Darrow Lucenario, an environmental and sanitary engineer, the San Mateo landfill project is technically flawed and is in violation of several environmental standards and guidelines. Not only is it said to be overpriced; it is located inside a protected forest area and threatens to pollute and contaminate waters sources in the area.

“We are calling for the total stoppage of the San Mateo landfill project because we know it will definitely affect our health and livelihood in San Mateo. This is in addition to the fact that there are anomalies in how the operators obtained their legal requirements such as environmental compliance certificate (ECC),” appealed Tony Balute, a local resident and member of Coalition for Garbage-Free San Mateo.

Fr. Anacleto Ignacio, who heads local opposition against the 40-hectare Sanitary Landfill project in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan relates to the same issue. Fr. Ignacio expressed that, “the landfill is in Bgy. Minuyan Proper where the Water Treament Plant of San Jose del Monte Water District is also located. Even with this glaring health risk, the municipal government allowed the construction of this landfill.”

“We are saddened by the fact that there are government officials and businessmen who will risk the life of our people and destroy the environment for the sake of profit. We are firm in our stand in opposing these landfills in our area,” Fr. Ignacio ended.

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