Environment group to DENR: Dump proposed Obando landfill

Over 200 protesters — including Members of the EcoWaste Coalition and residents of Obando — staged a protest outside the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) Monday against a proposed landfill in the Bulacan town whose application for an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) is under review. The Obando municipal government passed Resolution 07-102 in January, allowing Eco Shield Development Corp. to construct the proposed landfill. However, after months of resistance by residents and environmentalists, the DENR has been reviewing the project’s ECC application since last week. EcoWaste Coalition's Rey Palacio told GMA News Online they decided to stage a protest while the project’s ECC is under review, “para marinig ng DENR ang pagtutol namin at magkaron sila ng pag-iisip tungkol dito." The EcoWaste Coalition said that the landfill — to be set-up in the fishing village of Salambao — violates the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act’s minimum considerations on the site and design of sanitary landfills. The considerations stipulate that “the site must be chosen with regard for the sensitivities of the community’s residents," and that "the landfill's operation will not detrimentally affect environmentally sensitive resources." The protesters believe that aside from worsening the town’s ongoing flood problem, the proposed landfill will damage the mangroves and marine ecosystems of the Obando River and Manila Bay. As the landfill is planned to be in a 44-hectare area of fishpens, residents also believe that it poses a serious threat to the town’s primary livelihood. Mercy Dolorito, former Barangay chairman of Salambao said, "If you put garbage in the river, it will be like putting garbage on our plates because this is where our food comes from." Palacio says that they have not received word on the status of the ECC review. GMA News Online also got in touch with the DENR, but a director said she and Secretary Ramon Paje still haven't discussed the issue as of this posting. — VS, GMA News