Residents near landfill complain of foul odor

CEBU, Philippines — Residents in Sitio Kainsikan, Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City, are complaining about the foul smell from the Materials Recovery Facility and Sanitary Landfill.

In a Facebook post by former Apas barangay captain Ramil Ayuman yesterday, he said that residents have suffered from the foul odor since the previous management of the landfill and even up to the current management.

The Facebook post also added that the foul smell from the landfill has already reached Sitio Mansawa, also in Barangay Binaliw.

Ayuman urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to close the landfill for its continued violation.

In the same post, Randy Maglasang, a security guard of a subdivision in the barangay said that the foul odor has been experienced by the residents since 2018, and sometimes the stench lasts for 24 hours.

“Depende lang, naay usahay buntag baho na hantod inig ka hapon na g’yud na siya, mawa lang gyud na siya pila ka minuto, balik na sad depende sa hangin. Naa gani baynte-kwatro oras di g’yud mawa,” said Maglasang.

Maglasang said that the foul odor is because the garbage in the landfill isn’t covered with soil.

Meanwhile, the EMB-7 said they will first ask their legal officer to comment on the move of ARN Central Waste Management, Inc. (ACI), in asking the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau Region 7 (EMB-7) to investigate the landfill.

Last July 3, the president of ACI, Engineer Arnold Espinoza, and former shareholders, asked the EMB-7 to probe and issue notices against Prime Integrated Waste Solutions, Inc. (PWS) after allegedly failing to comply with the amended Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).

ACI is a Cebu-based waste management company that owns the largest private sanitary landfill and materials recovery in Cebu that processes 1,000 tons of solid waste every day.

On July 20 2022, PWS, a subsidiary of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. agreed to purchase ACI’s shares in the company through a Share Purchase Agreement. A year later, Prime Infra took over the management and operations of the company, promising to upgrade the facility to world-class standards.

During ACI’s management, the ECC issued to ACI on November 8, 2017 was amended on June 3, 2020. One of the conditions of the amended ECC is to establish an Environmental Unit (EU) which will be headed by a Pollution Control Officer (PCO).

“An Environmental Unit headed by a Pollution Control Officer shall be established within sixty days from issuance of this Certificate. The EU shall completely handle the environmental-related aspects of the project shall be established,” read a portion of the general conditions of the amended ECC.

According to ACI, during the time of their management, Jonathan Capeding was appointed to be their PCO for their EU. Espinoza claimed that with Capeding as PCO, he prepared Semi-Annual Compliance Monitoring Report on January 4, 2020 which covered the period from July to December 2019.

Yet in 2023, Capeding resigned as an officer after Prime Infra took over the company’s operation.

Espinoza also revealed that Prime Infra failed to appoint a new PCO who is officially accredited by EMB-7 through DENR Administrative Order No. 2014-02.

Espinoza wrote that Prime Infra, as the current operator of the facility, has no authority to use the name of Capeding as their PCO as well as the other names comprising the ACI’s EU prior to 2023, as using their names will be a “gross misinterpretation” on the part of Prime Infra.

In addition, ACI also noted other possible violations which were committed by Prime Infra as the operator of the facility. One of the alleged violations is the non-renewal of the Wastewater Discharge Permit which was valid only until February 2023.

As written in the letter of complaint, the submission of a copy of a valid PCO Accreditation and Letter Designation as PCO from the managing head is one of the requirements to renew the said permit.

“Failure to notify the EMB Regional Office of the transfer of ownership of the Project within fifteen days therefrom, in violation of Condition No. 37 of the amended ECC;” and “Failure to submit the semi-annual Compliance Monitoring Report covering the period July-December 2023,” were among the noted violations committed by Prime Infra. — (FREEMAN)