MMDA vows to pay true owner of Rizal landfill

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said it will be true to its word and pay what it owes the municipal government of Rodriguez, Rizal, which has been taking in Metro Manila’s garbage.

However, MMDA chief legal counsel Emmanuel de Castro said Rodriguez Mayor Pedro Cuerpo should first prove before the court that the town is the rightful owner of the 14-hectare landfill before the agency pays up.

This came following reports that the mayor had threatened to ban Metro Manila’s dumptrucks from the town’s landfill unless the MMDA pays them.

The MMDA official said Cuerpo had the wrong perception that the agency is being remiss in its duty to the municipality, saying this is exactly the reason why it had filed a case before the court to resolve the conflict.

He said the MMDA has no recourse but to wait for the outcome of a pending case it had filed before the Makati Regional Trial Court before it can finally settle its obligations with the rightful landfill owner.

“It’s up to the court to decide whether it’s the municipality or the provincial government we will pay. Until then, we cannot move yet lest we be cited for contempt because the case is sub judice,” De Castro said.

The Rodriguez municipal government and the Rizal provincial government are both claiming ownership of the landfill.

Reports said Cuerpo will again order to stop the dumping of garbage in his municipality if the MMDA ignores the town council’s demand for payment.

The mayor was suspended last February by the Rizal provincial government for ignoring a resolution stopping him from collecting fees from garbage haulers.

Cuerpo returned to his post last April 18 after getting a reprieve from Malacañang, which ordered a stay in his suspension pending a review of his appeal.