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The
controversy generated by the proposed cluster sanitary landfill
facility (SLF) in Albur town is far from over as Mayor Jose
Ugdoracion temporarily aborted the issuance of a directive
by his office to stop the project.
In
an interview yesterday at JJ's Dimsum Restaurant where a public
consultation and dialogue between the project proponent and
stakeholders was held, Ugdoracion said that he was assured
by Engr. Armando Miranda, a representative of the Philippine
Tourism Authority (PTA) that the matter will be brought to
the attention of PTA general manager Robert Dean Barbers to
formally issue an order to stop the project which has already
started with the construction of an access road going to the
site.
The
construction of the road component went ahead even without
an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) issued by the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
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He
said that PTA is in a better position to order the stoppage
of the project since it is the main proponent.
However,
if the PTA will ignore the request of Albur folks, the
mayor said he will push through with the closure order.
The
mayor echoed the collective demand of Albur residents
in rejecting the proposed facility for environmental
reasons.
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The
position of the people and militant Hugpong sa Alburanong
Nagpakabana (Hugalna), an alliance of organizations of Albur
folks, is simple and clear. They do not want to host a cluster
of dumpsite for solid wastes from neighboring towns and this
city, said the mayor.
Albur
folks, however, wanted to set-up their own landfill exclusively
for their own use.
The
proponent said that the total investment cost of the sanitary
landfill facility is estimated
to reach P196.4 million for the next 15 years while the total
operating cost to run the project is P112.3 million.
If
completed, each local government unit that compose the SLF
cluster will have to pay P500/month for every metric ton of
waste.
The
consultation included the presentation of relevant chronology
of events of the project and presentation of the status and
results of the feasibility study and detailed engineering
design of the SLF.
It
was aimed at facilitating a consensus and to reach an understanding
among the stakeholders.
The
dialogue was facilitated by the EcoGov, the provincial government
represented by Legal Officer Handel Lagunay, the Bohol Environmental
Management Office led by Engr. Rene Villaber, DENR-Environmental
Management Bureau chief Nestor Canda, the PTA, and FS Consultant
Engineer-PoIEL Engneering. (RVO)
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