Antiqueños hit interim landfill

The residents of Antique are questioning the selection of R-II DMCI for the government’s interim sanitary landfill project.

United Antiqueños Against Garbage Dumping in Semirara Island, a group of professionals with roots in Antique, disclosed that the proponent has neither the physical nor financial capability to implement the said project.

Gideon Javier, son of the late Antique governor Evelio Javier, pointed out that R-II’s partner, DMCI, owes the local government a total of P75 million in back taxes.

The amount represents the real estate taxes owed by DMCI when it used to be Semirara Coal Corporation, accrued over a period of three years.

Javier claimed that DMCI openly admitted that it was bankrupt and owed several other parties, including private banks, a sizeable amount.

On top of this, the group pointed out that the proponent could not possibly make the site available for use in a period of 10 days or less.

With a land area of 20 hectares, Javier said R-II DMCI needs two years to put up a genuine integrated solid waste management system.

The other vital elements needed for the landfill, such as the geomembrane or clay lining, were deemed impossible to lay down in two weeks.

On the other hand, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Jejomar Binay, explained that the proponent would develop the site on a piece meal basis.

Binay said that it would be a continuing process where ultimately, the site would be fully developed while dumping is already taking place.

Sources from the United Antiqueños group confirmed that the MMDA would be conducting a dry-run on the 29th of this month in spite of the lack of an official go signal from the government.

The Metro Mayors Council submitted to Malacañang the other day its notice of award for R-II DMCI, to be signed by the President.

However, even with the signature of the President, which is expected to come out this Monday, the proponent still has to secure an environmental clearance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources before it could operate.

Binay said that he is confident the ECC would be issued before the year ends.

The Antiqueños expressed concern over the way the government was handling the interim landfill as they felt that it was being "rammed down their throats."

Javier said that a number of Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU) were deployed at the mining area of DMCI more than a week ago.

He suspected that the CAFGU’s presence had something to do with the proposed landfill project as there were no known hostile activities in that area in the past.