SC orders Osmeña: Stop dumping wastes in Inayawan for good

The Supreme Court (SC) ordered the Cebu City Government to permanently stop dumping garbage in the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill.

The SC en banc affirmed the resolution of the Court of Appeals-Cebu Station, which had granted the Writ of Kalikasan directing Mayor Tomas Osmeña or his representatives to stop dumping garbage in the landfill.

“The court is convinced from the evidence on record that the respondent has sufficiently established the requirements for the grant of the privilege of the Writ of Kalikasan,” the SC ruling read.

The Writ of Kalikasan is a legal remedy to protect one’s constitutional right to a healthy environment.

Apart from closing the landfill, the High Court also ordered the City Government to continue to rehabilitate the site.

The 15.4-hectare landfill was reopened in June 2016 after former mayor Michael Rama shut it down in January 2015.

Last Sept. 23, 2016, Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera filed the petition against Mayor Osnumbered” meña; Engr. William Cunado, officer-in-charge of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7; and Emma Melana, chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7, before the CA.

Garganera sought the issuance of a temporary environmental protection order to “stop a looming environmental catastrophe.”

Garganera’s lawyer, Jasper Lucero, argued that the Inayawan Landfill should be closed because it violates the Clean Air Act since the landfill is adjacent to a body of water.

Lucero revealed that owners of a private landfill in Consolacion town issued a certification stating that they are willing to renegotiate with the City Government.

He said that an inspection by the Department of Health showed that the continued operation of the dumpsite poses ‘high risk of public concern.’

But the mayor argued that the Inayawan landfill operated since 1998 and it conformed to the standards and requirements that were applicable then.

In affirming the CA’s ruling, the High Court ruled that the requirements in granting the privilege of the Writ of Kalikasan were sufficiently complied with.

Likewise, the City Government’s resumption of the garbage dumping operations at the Inayawan landfill has raised serious environmental concerns, the High Court said.

The air and water quality impact assessment of the EMB’s compliance evaluation report dated Aug. 18, 2016 showed that the air quality poses a threat to nearby surroundings while the water quality poses threats of water pollution.