CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña wants Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Regina Paz Lopez cross-examined in court for calling the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill an “environmental bombshell.”
In his news conference yesterday, Osmeña said if Lopez comes to Cebu, he wants to put her on a witness stand and demand scientific explanations for her comments.
“Frankly speaking, I don’t believe her. What bomb are you talking about? How come nothing happened there? Just because she has the title, doesn’t mean she’s an authority. Whatever her authority is, we deserve an explanation,” he said.
Change of heart
During her visit last month, Lopez was initially okay with the rehabilitation of the landfill, but changed her mind after learning that the facility is near the sea.
Due to climate change, sea levels may rise six to eight meters, she said.
She ordered the Environmental Management Bureau 7 of DENR to issue a closure order after getting conflicting reports from Osmeña, DENR 7 officials and City Councilor Joel Garganera about its status.
“Give us a scientific explanation, why the sea will rise when this has not happened since the time of (Ferdinand) Magellan 500 years ago. I want to challenge her. How come nothing happened in our old landfill in Pasil?” Osmeña said.
He explained that during the term of his father, Sergio Osmeña Jr., the City dumped its trash in the landfill in Barangay Pasil, which was close to the sea.
As time passed, the landfill was moved to Barangays Mambaling then Duljo-Fatima, both near the sea as well.
“Just joking”
In a related development, Garganera challenged Osmeña to dump the City’s trash in Barangay Tinago’s open areas.
(Garganera was barangay captain of Tinago before he was elected to the council.)
This, after Osmeña last Tuesday said he was eying the barangay as a temporary holding area for garbage when the landfill closes in January.
Garganera said the mayor can choose among the open areas in Tinago, such as the offices of the Commission on Audit 7, Philippine Army, Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, Department of Public Works and Highways and Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office.
“I’m fine with dumping it in Tinago. We’ve had ample time to look for a new landfill, but he was so bent on keeping the facility that he never used the time,” Garganera said.
Osmeña, for his part, said he was “just joking” when he made the pronouncement.
While the trash won’t go to Tinago, he maintained that the trash has to be dumped somewhere because he can’t leave it out on the streets.
“Unless he wants to volunteer his house, okay ra. Were not capable of putting it anywhere else in any landfill outside the city. I challenge Garganera to eat all the garbage because he thinks he can just make it disappear,” Osmeña said.
