Citizen's group to sue governor

CEBU, Philippines - An environmentalists’ group will be filing an administrative complaint against Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia before the Office of the President through the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for conflict of interest.

Gloria Ramos, co-director of Philippine Earth Justice Center, Inc. (PEJCI) told The FREEMAN yesterday that another group of citizens will be filing the suit against the governor.

Ramos explained that Cebu province headed by the governor is supposed to be the enforcer of anti-pollution laws and yet, it is a contractor of a regulated industry such as the 2X100 mw of KEPCO-SPC Power Corporation’s Cebu Power Plant in Barangay Colon in Naga City.

“That is a clear conflict of interest. Under the Clean Air Act and Solid Management Act, the Province is duty-bound to enforce the law and yet the province is dependent on KEPCO for its coal ash dumping. There are some laws requiring proper dumping,” Ramos said.

President Benigno Aquino III is in Cebu today to inaugurate the facility.

It was Ramos’ group that had made the disclosure about submerged portions of the Balili property, which the Provincial Government bought. The Capitol is using some areas of the land as a coal ash dumpsite for KEPCO for a certain fee.

The PEJCI and other petitioners, the Central Visayas Farmer’s Development Center, Central Visayas Fisherfolks Development Center, concerned residents of Toledo City and Naga City already filed a separate case against Garcia in relation to the alleged indiscriminate dumping of coal ash operators including the KEPCO-SPC in Naga, the Toledo Power Plant and the Cebu Energy Development Corporation in Toledo City.

A court hearing on the case will take place today before the sala of Judge Marilyn Yap, presiding judge of Branch 55, Regional Trial Court in Mandaue City which was also designated as an environment court.

Aside from the governor, other officials of local government units and the officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources were also impleaded in the case.

Meanwhile, Senator Loren Legarda, author of the Solid Waste Management Law, is urging LGUs to implement this as part of disaster-risk reduction efforts to solve flooding.

Legarda explained that the law provides for recycling as well as segregation of garbage at its source, segregated transportation, processing, treatment and proper disposal of solid waste.

The law emphasizes on recycling so that less garbage get to the sanitary landfill.

The Senator also said that every citizen must do his part simply by segregating recyclable from non-recyclable items. — (FREEMAN)