PAST officials may still be held liable for their failure to implement Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
Undersecretary Noel Felongco of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said these officials will be held accountable after their failure to establish a sanitary landfill in their areas since the law was passed 17 years ago.
“Whether they are incumbent or not, these officials are still liable,” said Felongco during the 2017 Cordillera Environment Summit at the Albergo Hotel.
Under Section 50 of RA 9003, local government officials who fail to comply with and enforce rules and regulations will be charged administratively in accordance with RA 7160 and other existing laws and regulations.
Although the law has been passed years ago, local government units (LGUs) have yet to fully comply with the provisions of RA 9003 which includes the conversion of dump sites to engineered sanitary landfill.
An engineered sanitary landfill consists of an evacuated pit isolated from watercourses and above the water table. Each day's solid waste is compacted and covered with soil to maintain sanitary conditions; the World Health Organization defines in a guideline.
In the Cordillera region, of the 77 LGUs, only 33 have submitted their 10-year solid waste management plan with the Environment Management Bureau while only 10 are now approved, five endorsed and 18 were reviewed and returned to their respective government units.
EMB officer-in-charge regional director Reynaldo Digamo said three LGUs in the region, one in Benguet, will be facing charges including their chief executive for their failure to comply under the provisions of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
Digamo did not disclose the three municipalities while lauding the efforts of Apayao province for submitting their comprehensive 10-year Municipal Ecological Solid Waste Management Plans.
Earlier in March, the seven municipalities of Apayao were visited by Felongco together with members of the Technical Working Group after their submission of the solid waste management plan.
“If the 10-year solid waste plans of our seven municipalities are to be approved by the Commission, then it is appropriate also to put them in our table for us to study and improve for its application in the provincial level,” Governor Elias Bulut Jr. earlier said. (Roderick Osis)