Lawyers file charges vs 3 mayors

The Philippine Bar Association (PBA) filed charges yesterday against three Metro Manila mayors before the Office of the Environmental Ombudsman for non-compliance with the Philippine Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

In separate complaint-affidavits, the PBA, represented by lawyers Rita Jimeno, Hector Martinez, Antonio Oposa Jr., Alonzo Ancheta, Ruben Fruto, Maria Teresita Sison-Go, and Antonio Tria, named as respondents Malabon City Mayor Canuto Oreta, Parañaque City Mayor Florencio Bernabe and San Juan Mayor Jose Victor "JV" Ejercito.

The lawyers, in their complaint-affidavit, accused the three mayors of "gross and willful violation of the Philippine Solid Waste Management Act, also known as Republic Act 9003.

"This is only the beginning.  We are continuously conducting revalidation of the rest of cities and municipalities in the Metro concerning their compliance with RA 9003," Jimeno said. "If more cities or municipalities are found not complying with or not seriously obeying the law, then more mayors may be charged before the Office of the Environmental Ombudsman."

Jimeno, who is the president of the PBA, pointed out that the primary enforcement and responsibility of solid waste management is placed on the local government units (LGUs).

Prior the filing of the charges, the PBA sent notices to sue 11 Metro mayors after the National Solid Waste Management Commission of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-NSWMC) found several violations of the law by the LGUs. The findings were reported to the PBA.

The 11 mayors were given 30 days to reply to the notices to sue, but only eight submitted reports to the PBA regarding the levels of their compliance with the law.

The PBA said Malabon and San Juan did not reply to the notices. 

DENR-NSWMC conducted a re-inspection and discovered that Malabon and San Juan had "minimal effort in improving solid waste management and in complying with certain provisions of RA 9003."

Parañaque, on the other hand, sent a reply to PBA’s notice to sue, but the re-investigation report of the DENR-NSWMC revealed that the city also had minimal compliance with the law.

The PBA said Malabon and San Juan still collect mixed wastes and have only one or two Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in their barangays.  The group also said Malabon’s open dump in Catmon has not been rehabilitated and continues to be used in violation of the law.

The PBA noted that Parañaque’s collected waste is temporarily dumped at a three-hectare transfer station, located in Barangay San Antonio, for segregation of recyclable waste.  The lawyers alleged that trucking firm running the transfer station does not have an Environmental Compliance Certificate. 

They also said that foul odor emanates from the facility and that uncollected waste is scattered within the vicinity.

The PBA commended four mayors for sincerely complying with RA 9003, namely: Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay and Marikina City Mayor Marides Fernando.

However, the lawyers said monitoring of compliance would continue so the LGUs must be sincere in their effort to implement the law.

Albert Magalang, director of the DENR-NSWMC, said that at this point, the LGUs must have complied with at least four provisions of RA 9003, namely: ordinances on mandatory waste segregation at source; segregated waste collection; establishment of MRFs in barangays or cluster barangays; and disposal of waste to a controlled dumpsite facility.

He added that the 25% waste diversion must also be met by the LGUs at this time, if the law would be strictly followed.

"We are quite lenient right now as we only used the four provisions of RA 9003 as criteria just so cities and municipalities would easily comply with the law," Magalang said.

Should the charged mayors take steps to comply with the law during the course of the Ombudsman proceedings against them and turn things around for good, the lawsuits might be withdrawn.

Under the law, LGUs that continue to fail in their compliance with RA 9003 could be penalized with fines while the mayors or other officials might be suspended.

"This is not personal.  This is to force the LGUs to comply with the law," Tria said.