BCDA tells stakeholders to stop using Tarlac landfill

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Bases Conversion and Development Corp. (BCDA) is urging local government units and businesses to stop using the 100-hectare Kalangitan sanitary landfill, emphasizing that it does not have the authority to operate.

In a statement, the BCDA reiterated that the Kalangitan sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac has no authority to operate (ATO) or business permit, emphasizing that any attempt to continue its operations would be against the law.

It said the contract for services between Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. (MCWMC) and Clark Development Corp. (CDC) expired last Oct. 5 and could not be renewed or extended.

This means that the company’s ATO/business permit for the Kalangitan landfill site has also expired.

“Considering CDC has not issued any authority to operate Kalangitan as a waste disposal facility, its continued use as a sanitary landfill would violate existing laws such as Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. Hence, its continued use is unauthorized and illegal,” the BCDA said.

In line with this, the BCDA is seeking the cooperation of local government units, other government agencies, and businesses to stop using the sanitary landfill.

“They are strongly urged to explore other waste management facilities recognized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources- Environmental Management Bureau for their solid waste management requirements,” the BCDA said.

“The BCDA appeals for all stakeholders to uphold the rule of law and make way for peaceful cooperation to ensure the non-disruption of waste management efforts in Central Luzon, as well as neighboring cities and provinces,” it added.

With the expiration of the contract for services in October, the CDC issued its notice to cease and desist operations and demand to peacefully vacate against MCWMC.

The BCDA stressed that the Regional Trial Court of Capas, Tarlac, in Special Civil Action Case No. 99-24, denied MCWMC’s prayer for the issuance of a Writ of Preliminary Injunction in the case for Mandamus filed against the CDC, wherein MCWMC sought to compel CDC to issue the ATO/business permit and enjoin CDC from coordinating with local government units that are utilizing the Kalangitan landfill site.

Additionally, the BCDA and the CDC were granted a temporary restraining order by the Court of Appeals, in CA-GR SP Case 186856, enjoining the Regional Trial Court of Capas, Tarlac from implementing its Writ of Preliminary Injunction which then prohibited BCDA and CDC and from directly or indirectly removing MCWMC from the Kalangitan landfill site.

In June, the BCDA’s statutory counsel said that extending the 25-year contract between the CDC and MCWMC beyond October 2024 would be against the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, the framework used in bidding and awarding the contract for the project, citing the legal opinion of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel.

“Moreover, the BCDA maintains that a sanitary landfill is no longer consistent with the government’s vision of transforming New Clark City into a premier investment and tourism destination,” the BCDA said earlier.

The state-run firm said earlier that it would assist local government units, government agencies, and locators to explore alternative solutions for the affected stakeholders’ waste disposal requirements to ensure non-disruption of solid waste management services.

It cited a report from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau Region III noting that there are two existing facilities in Pampanga that may be utilized.