This was written before the public scoping of the ARN Central Materials Recovery Facility and Sanitary Landfill Project in Barangay Binaliw scheduled at 9 a.m., Friday, October 21.
The announcement explained that “this public scoping under the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System is a formal process that is initiated, planned and conducted to promote dialogue or communication among different stakeholders for the purpose of exchanging information and views on the environmental impacts assessment, management and monitoring for proposed projects as part of the review of their ECC Application. All persons having an interest in these matters are invited to attend and make their views known.”
For today’s issue, allow us to discuss some details shared last year (May-July 2021) by residents of Barangay Binaliw about their daily experiences with wastes thrown in their community.
“Daghang kahoy dinhi sa una.” (There were many trees here in the past).
Land titles of some former landowners of Barangay Binaliw showed their areas planted with corn, mango, and bamboo.
Barangay Binaliw is an upland barangay of Cebu City with private subdivisions and an exclusive private cemetery near the boundary of Barangay Pit-os, farmlands along the flatter portions, and the ARN MRF & Sanitary Landfill and proposed WTE facility in Sitio Kainsikan, at the upper northern portion closer to Barangay Panoypoy, Consolacion.
Portions of Barangay Binaliw close to the border of Barangay Asungot, Cebu City, are near the Cebu Landscape Protected Area. and some are part of the Butuanon Watershed.
The former picturesque image/protected landscape of this mountain barangay described by residents to have clean air and beautiful view has sadly transformed into a growing mountain of dirty, smelly waste disposed at a landfill in one of their sitios.
“Baho, hugaw, tagak-tagak, agas-agas, langaw, tabay (stench, filth, drippings/seepage, flies, contaminated wells) are some of the complaints of the Barangay Binaliw residents about the waste that garbage trucks throw in their community.
Women residents mentioned different kinds of stench; there is the smell of human waste (naay bahong tae), or smell of something dead (naay bahong patay), or smell of the rotting (manglata).
“We are still alive, but we smell like the dead. (Buhi pa gani mi, nanimaho ng patay).
We hope the residents were informed and invited to the October 21, 2022 public scoping as they are the ones directly affected by the ARN project.
Many residents reported that, in the past, they were not informed or invited to any public hearing, before the ARN project started to operate in their community.
Also, many Barangay Binaliw residents thought that the ARN project was about a Material Recovery Facility in their community, not a landfill or a WTE (waste to energy) facility.
Even a March 2017 Barangay Binaliw Resolution confirmed this: approved and signed was "A RESOLUTION APPROVING/ENDORSING ARN BUILDERS, INC. FOR THE PROPOSED CENTRAL MATERIAL RECOVERY FACILITY PROJECT IN BARANGAY BINALIW, CEBU CITY WITH TOTAL LAND AREA OF 20 HECTARES."
We hope the residents were able to air these demands of theirs in the October 21, 2022 public scoping:
“ Dili unta maglabay diha (Stop disposal).”
“Ang makatarunganon g’yud ana, di na sila maglabay dinhi (What is truly fair is for them not to throw here).”
“Sa rason naka-epekto g’yud sa amo dire nga pagpuyo (Because we are affected).”
Ang operations...hunungon na lang nila ba (Stop operations).”
We hope the personal/community adverse impacts shared by the residents be immediately and regularly addressed by ARN, the Barangay Binaliw Council, the Cebu City Council, and the DENR.
Aside from public scoping, regular health examination of residents, regular water quality and air pollution tests are also highly recommended.
Similar complaints by residents in other communities where the garbage trucks pass through and where air pollution spreads should also be addressed.