EMB 7 buck station lot

The proposed ordinance apportioning one hectare inside the Inayawan Landfill for a transfer station has been opposed by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7.

In a position paper submitted to the Cebu City Council dated April 24, EMB Regional Director Engr. William Cuñado said Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr.’s draft ordinance runs counter to the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA).

“Mayor Tomas Osmeña, among others, was ordered to permanently cease and desist from dumping or disposing of garbage or solid waste at the landfill, and to continue the rehabilitation of the facility,” read a portion of the report.

Last Dec. 15, the CA granted the petition for writ of kalikasan that Councilor Joel Garganera filed against Osmeña, Cuñado, and Emma Melana, chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resoruces 7.

Less than five months after the facility was ordered closed, Gabuya filed a proposed ordinance, saying that the construction of a transfer station is not tantamount to reopening the landfill.

In a previous report, the councilor explained that should the ordinance be passed, infrastructure will be built where trash will no longer have to be deposited on the lot, but directly transferred from truck to truck.

Having a City-owned transfer station will help lessen the contract price it has with Jomara Konstrukct Corp. ( JKC), he added.

The City is paying JKC P1,375 per ton of garbage collected in all 80 barangays. This includes tipping fee, use of equipment, payment for the transfer station and the driver and loaders.

Of the amount, P200 per ton is paid to the owner of the transfer station JKC has entered into a deal with.

With JKC collecting some 500 tons of trash daily, passing the ordinance will help the City save P100,000 every day, Gabuya said.

Aside from the EMB, the draft legislation has also been opposed by the committee on laws, which recommended that the City instead fast-track the rehabilitation of the facility. / Mayor Tomas Osmeña, among others, was ordered to permanently cease and desist from dumping or disposing of garbage or solid waste at the landfill, and to continue the rehabilitation of the facility.

EMB 7 POSITION PAPER