DENR probes planned San Mateo landfill

Department Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza yesterday ordered the investigation of the planned new landfill project in San Mateo, Rizal after reports that it is going to be constructed on a protected forested portion of the town.

In an interview, Atienza said that the investigation stemmed from information he received that the project proponents “deceived” the government by submitting “misrepresented documents” to the DENR in order to obtain the environmental compliance certificate (ECC). 

“We are having it verified and investigated. We have to double-check if the project proponents indeed submitted false and misrepresented documents to the DENR, and thus, able to get an ECC for the project,” the DENR chief told The Star.

“If indeed they committed erroneous orientation to the government, if there really was deceit in the documents they presented to the DENR, then they would be charged and should be punished,” he also said. 

Atienza likewise warned DENR officials and employees involved in the processing of the project proponent’s documents, saying they too, could be sanctioned if they are found to have erred on their job.

He said those DENR officials and employees would eventually be asked to explain about their participation in the project, and why should they be excluded from any charges. 

“Those who handled the processing of the papers for the landfill project would also be included (in the investigation and possible charges) unless they can prove that they have done their job in good faith, na wala silang kinalaman sa reported false documents submitted to us,” Atienza said.

“That is why all DENR employees and officials are enjoined to be careful, especially regarding documents being submitted, because now we have the one-strike policy at the Department, which would not leave out anyone. That is the policy direction now at the DENR,” he also said. 

The planned 200-hectare landfill is purportedly to serve as dumping ground of garbage from San Mateo, other neighboring municipalities, as well as Metro Manila, which used to dump its garbage on the existing San Mateo landfill until the Supreme Court ordered the facility closed down in 2005.

Project developers are said to have obtained an ECC from the DENR apparently for the construction of the landfill in Sitio Mabilog na Bato, Barangay Pintong Bukawe.

But concerned residents and environmentalists said the project would actually be constructed on a protected forested part of San Mateo, particularly in Barangays Maly and Guinayang. 

The Ecological Waste Coalition (EcoWaste) and Greenpeace have said that they oppose the project because it would be built on an environmentally critical area, which is linked to the Marikina watershed and drains into the Laguna Lake.

Environmentalists are contemplating on filing a case against the San Mateo Sanitary Landfill and Development Corp., the alleged project developer, for violation of RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. 

A concerned citizen has hinted that the project developer have started a 19-hectare “initial phase” on a private property in Barangay Guinayang, which is several kilometers away from Pintong Bukawe. The resident likewise said that the project is expandable to 200 hectares, which would be almost half of the 473-hectare protected forest area when fully completed.