Garganera wants update on rehab plan for landfill

Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera is asking an update on the post-closure rehabilitation plan for Inayawan Sanitary Landfill, which was shut down almost two years ago.

Garganera said he will file a resolution next week inquiring from the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office and the Department of Public Services on the Post-Closure Rehabilitation.

“It is imperative for us to immediately rehabilitate the Inayawan dumpsite and adopt sustainable measures to reduce our garbage and promote a healthier environment for our constituents,” a portion of the proposed resolution read.

The Court of Appeals barred the city government from operating the landfill in December 2016 by issuing a Writ of Kalikasan. The order stemmed from the petition filed by Garganera.

Garganera said the Supreme Court already upheld the decision of the Court of Appeals on May 29, 2018. Up to the present, he said the City Council has not gotten any updates on the rehabilitation plan of the landfill.

Last year, the city government set aside P52.4 million for the landfill's rehabilitation. The rehabilitation, remediation and closure plan for the landfill include the construction of two perimeter fences amounting to P35.2 million; construction or rehabilitation of the South Road Properties (SRP) to the Inayawan landfill causeway (P3.4 million); work and financial plan for greening and vegetation of the landfill (P780, 000); recovery of facility's service area (P10 million); and procurement of a weighbridge scale which costs P3 million.

Garganera said he has been reading reports of the current administration's plans to implement a Waste-to-energy facility in a 4-hectare property near the landfill. While he is amenable of having a WTE project, he said the project must be dealt with strict scrutiny as there's a court decision preventing the city from using the landfill.

In July 2018, the city issued a notice to proceed for Full Advantage Phils International Inc. (FAPII) to commence the consultancy project known as the “Closure and Rehabilitation Plan for Inayawan Sanitary Landfill” with a contract amounting to P2,474,550.

FAPII is expected to work on data gathering for waste depth, volume and extent of area covered, onsite waste characteristics, leachate generation and quality, groundwater and surface water quality, social aspect and gas emission.

Initial Site Assessment Report of FAPII showed that the landfill has a total municipal solid waste of 1.1 million cubic meters with 7.1 percent slope after operating for 20 years before it was finally closed.

CENRO Chief Ma. Nida Cabrera said FAPII will present its findings next week.