MINGLANILLA, Cebu Mayor Rajiv Enad speaks during a meeting on Thursday, Jan. 22, regarding the planned disposal of garbage from Cebu City in the town. (Facebook)
CEBU CITY – Officials of a southern town in Cebu are against plans to open their landfill to garbage coming from Cebu City.
Minglanila Mayor Rajiv Enad, barangay officials, Sangguniang Kabataan leaders, and thousands of residents are wary of environmental and health impacts if Cebu City dumps its garbage in the town.
“We maintain our Minglanilla-first policy. Transferring the environmental and social burden of a big city like Cebu to a small town like Minglanilla is unreasonable and fundamentally unjust,” said Enad, who was called to an emergency meeting on Thursday morning, Jan. 22, at the Capitol with DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Gov. Pam Baricuatro, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival, Talisay City Mayor Samsam Gullas, and other DENR and provincial officials.
Barangay captains, youth leaders, and residents have signed manifestos rejecting the plan due to environmental and public health risks.
Enad cited that the landfill in Minglanilla has no permit to operate after the private owner failed to fulfill obligations based on an agreement with the municipality. It has been closed for three years now and Minglanilla is currently hauling its garbage to a private solid waste facility in the City of Naga.
The mayor denied Archival’s claim that Cebu City has been “negotiating” with Minglanilla, saying no one from Cebu City nor DENR had reached out to him about the matter, until he was called to the meeting.
Enad told Lotilla and those present in the meeting that Minglanilla continues to suffer from the effects of the landfill even if it was closed three years ago, with garbage still finding its way to rivers.
"With all humility and honesty, I spoke up in the meeting, bringing with me the voice of Minglanillahanons in giving a resounding ‘No’ to their proposal. Kining atong decision para sa mga Minglanillahanon karon, ug para sa mga umaabot Minglanillahanon," said Enad.
Cebu City is looking for a permanent waste disposal site following trash slide at the Binaliw dumpsite that claimed 36 lives recently.