Act on Oro dumpsite problem, Carmen folk urge city council

By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent

OVER 100 families kiving in subdivisions in Barangay Carmen have signed a petition in an effort to pressure the city council to act on the worsening problem at the city’s sanitary landfill.

The complaining residents from Golden Village, Alco Homes, Sacred Heart Village and Popcom 10 signed the petition to appeal to the city’s legislators “to do something about the oversaturated landfill that is emitting foul and odorous smell in our area for the past 40 years or more.”

Among those who signed the July 13 petition was former vice mayor Antonio Soriano who said the residents have long been asking city hall to relocate the city dump because of the risks it has been posing.

“We have endured this offensive air while waiting for the fulfilment of the assurances and promises of the past city administration, including the present, that it will remedy and correct this long-standing health hazard,” reads part of the petition.

The petition was sent to the city council through Vice Mayor Caesar Ian Acenas, and copies were furnished to Mayor Oscar Moreno and Xavier University president Fr. Roberto Yap, chairman of the local Solid Waste Management Board.

The petition continued: “So Honorable Sirs/Mesdames, please give us the clean air we used to enjoy so you can say with full satisfaction you have given back to the people of Cagayan de Oro, especially residents of Carmen, the service that is rightfully due to us. With all due respect, we humbly and sincerely await your action on this environmental and health concern.”

The Environment Management Bureau (EMB) have repeatedly asked city hall to close down the dumpsite and open up a new one even as it warned of the toxic build-up in the area. The Moreno administration has been asking the city council to approve its proposed budget so it could close down and rehabilitate the city dump.