TACLOBAN CITY - The municipal council of Palompon, Leyte has sought an investigation on the alleged illegal dumping of infectious wastes coming from the quarantine and isolation facilities in the municipality.
A resolution has been signed by the municipal council to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau 8 (DENR-EMB8), Department of Health-8 (DOH-8), appealing for an immediate investigation following reports and social media posts in the first week of September of the alleged dumping of infectious wastes in Brgy. San Miguel of the said town.
Photos have also circulated online of personnel wearing personal protective equipment (PPEs) dumping wastes in an open dumpsite. They were on board a vehicle purportedly owned by the local government unit with its logo on it.
Section 37 of Republic Act 9003 prohibits the use of open dumps for solid wastes by any person, including local government units (LGUs).
Section 38 of the said law also provides that an environmental compliance certificate (ECC), including permits and other clearances, must be first obtained before the construction, operation, and expansion of a solid waste management facility.
Last week, an environmental suit was also filed against DBSN Farms Agriventures Corporation (DBSN) allegedly owned by a top official of Palompon.
The said complaint seeks for the issuance of a Writ of Environmental Protection Order, Clean-up, Restoration, Rehabilitation of the affected environment with Prayer for Temporary Environmental Protection Order against the official and the Environment Management Bureau as an unwilling complainant for its alleged failure to enforce its decision finding various environmental violations committed by private respondent since 2017.
The case stemmed from a dumping site owned by DBSN in Brgy. San Joaquin, Palompon, Leyte. Some residents complained of suffering from vomiting and diarrhea due to the flies and odor coming from the wastes in the dumping site.
One of the complainants alleged that wastes such as chicken dung, carcasses, and blood placed in drums, plastic bags, or sacks are transported to the land owned by DBSN.