Ecowaste Coalition sues Oca, Ian, et al.

By NITZ ARANCON, Correspondent

THE Environmental Ombudsman has ordered Mayor Oscar Moreno, Vice Mayor Caesar Ian Acenas, and councilors to answer a complaint by the environmental watchdog Ecowaste Coalition in connection with city hall’s inaction on the sanitary landfill problem in the city.

Councilors Teodulfo Lao and Enrico Salcedo yesterday confirmed that all elected city hall officials, including City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (Clenro) chief Edwin Dael, have been charged in connection with the local government’s failure to close down the city dump in Upper Carmen, and to provide the city with a new one.

“We’re preparing our answer,” said Lao. “It is on record that we [in the city council minority] have been supporting calls for the transfer of the sanitary landfill.”

Salcedo, for his part, opined that the Moreno administration would likely put the blame on the city council majority that blocked proposals for sufficient funding for a new sanitary landfill.

“I think that would be his (Moreno’s) answer,” said Salcedo.

Earlier, Dael sounded alarm bells over the dangers being posed by the city dump in Carmen, explaining that it has long exceeded its capacity to take in garbage.

Officials here are among 90 officials of seven local governments in Mindanao to have been ordered to answer complaints filed by the Ecowaste Coalition.

The local officials were charged with violation of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

Ecowaste Coalition filed 50 complaints against the local officials last month based on “field investigations” that showed they allegedly violated RA 9003 and its implementing rules and regulations.

The Ombudsman said Article 6, Section 37 of the law prohibits the establishment or operation of open dump site. The law also mandates that, upon its effectivity in 2003, every local government should convert its open dumps to controlled dumps.

Those ordered to answer the complaints of Ecowaste are the mayors, vice mayors and councilors of Cagayan de Oro, Kidapawan and Koronadal, Valencia in Bukidnon, Loreto in Agusan del Sur, Marihatag in Surigao del Sur and General Luna in Surigao del Norte.

They are also directed to submit a Safe Closure and Rehabilitation Plan (SCRP) within a non-extendible period of 30 days. The plan, the Ombudsman said, must detail their proposal to immediately close the open dump sites as well as specific tasks, activities and legislative action to be implemented within six months.

A team of investigators from the Office of the Ombudsman was deployed last week to personally serve the orders.

The Environmental Ombudsman team headed by Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Gerard Mosquera is mandated to handle complaints filed against any public official, employee, office or agency mandated to protect the environment and conserve natural resources where the act complained of appears to be illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient.

The ombudsman said the mayors and the environment and natural resources officers are the principal executive officers responsible for ensuring compliance with RA 9003.

Vice mayors and councilors, on the other hand, having the mandate to establish policies of their respective local governments and control over the funds, are likewise charged for conspiring with mayors and the Cenros to commit the violations of RA No. 9003 within their jurisdiction.

If found liable, the local officials may be criminally and administratively charged under the provisions of RA 9003, the Ombudsman said. (with reports from pna)