For haulers of trash at SRP: Emergency procurement

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Council has voted to authorize Mayor Tomas Osmeña to enter into a contract for the emergency procurement of service providers to haul the city's garbage to authorized landfills. As to where these landfills are, that question still remains.

During the special session yesterday, it was an 8-7 vote after Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella decided to divide the house due to conflicting stands on the move of executive department regarding the emergency procurement.

The approval of the authorization of the mayor was made through the corollary motion of his wife, Councilor Margarita Osmeña and was supported by five BOPK councilors Sisinio Andales, Joy Augustus Young, Eugenio Gabuya Jr., Alvin Arcilla, Mary Ann Delos Santos, and independent officials David Tumulak and Nendell Hanz Abella.

Those who opposed the motion were Team Rama councilors Joel Garganera, Raymond Garcia, Jocelyn Pesquera, Jerry Guardo, Pastor "Jun" Alcover, Jose Daluz III, and ex-officio member Phillip Zafra.

Daluz concurred with the motion of Osmeña but also said he hopes that with that authorization the mayor will not again use the restricted areas like the transfer station and the Inayawan landfill.

Before the vote happened there was an hour-long discussion about the emergency procurement. It was put on record that Daluz made a motion but it was not carried because some of the Team Rama-affiliated councilors were absent during the special session.

The corollary motion of Daluz was meant to give an authority to the mayor to enter into a contract with a service provider but it also stipulated to not use the transfer station in the SRP and the Inayawan landfill.   This motion came after the councilors heard the stand of Mayor Osmeña who appeared during the special session.

Osmeña said that he plans to either establish a transfer station in the Inayawan landfill or continue using the transfer station in the SRP if the council will not approve the emergency procurement of service providers.  With this manifestation of the opposition, the council approved the motion of Andales letting the executive department look for a legal transfer station.

Daluz then suggested a particular vacant area situated in Inayawan that can be used as a transfer station.

Not much results

Earlier, the scheduled technical conference yesterday between the Cebu City government and the Environmental Management Bureau-7 over the operation of the transfer station failed to produce substantial results or an agreement.

After the morning closed-door meeting, EMB-7 regional director Engineer William Cuñado told reporters that discussions did not prosper since there was another caucus set at Cebu City Hall to also deliberate on the same matter.

"We were not able to come up with an agreement. They suggested that since they will have a caucus this noon. We will wait for the results. In fact, I was also invited to attend the caucus," he said yesterday.

The mayor, who also attended the conference, told reporters after the conference that he is left with no choice but to continue using the transfer station in the SRP since he has no other place to store the trash.

The city government's existing sanitary landfill was earlier ordered closed by the Court of Appeals, and the mayor refuses to throw garbage at a private landfill in Consolacion town in the absence of a memorandum of agreement.

Since the city government insists to defy the cease-and-desist order issued by EMB-7, the agency's regional director said they have no other choice.

"If you read between the lines, mopadayon man gyud siya… ni-violate gyud siya sa atoang (existing policies). Ako na na siyang gi-endorse sa legal section para naa'y appropriate action… impose unsa'y nakabutang sa balaud," said Cuñado.

Section 9 of Presidential Decree No. 1586 provides that any person or corporation or partnership found violating Section 4 of the same law, which prohibits any individual or entity from operating an environmentally-critical project without securing first an Environmental Compliance Certificate, shall be punished buy the suspension or cancellation of the certificate or fine of an amount that would not exceed P50,000 for every violation.

He reiterated that he has endorsed the case involving the Cebu City government over the continued operation of the transfer station to the National Solid Waste Management Commission but has not yet received any feedback yet.

As agreed, he said any criminal or administrative case to be filed against a local government unit committing solid waste violation will be endorsed to the commission for the formal filing before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Three transfer stations

Cuñado also said during the Osmeña revealed his plan to establish three transfer stations in Cebu City: first is the existing transfer station near the city government's Department of Public Services office; the second is near the Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod at the SRP; while the third is a portion near the sanitary landfill in Barangay Inayawan.

For the third option, since the city was barred from utilizing the landfill, Cuñado said that the city government plans to seek approval from the Court of Appeals to allow them to use a portion of the area as transfer station.

However, if the city plans to establish transfer stations, Cuñado said it should be approved by the EMB.

Cuñado clarified that the EMB has not allowed yet the operation of an existing transfer station near the DPS office.

When asked if he has any disposal area that the EMB can recommend, Cuñado said the city mayor has a lot of consultants who should be studying the matter and identifying appropriate sites.

"You have several consultants. That is the work of your consultant… to identify alternative means provided that the garbage crisis is addressed. Why should I recommend when they don't have application or proposal provided to us?" he said.

He said that every LGU is even mandated to craft a 10-year solid waste management plan that may be prepared by the consultants and reviewed by the EMB. (FREEMAN)