Skip to main content

Nixed 2019 budget puts Laoag City dumpsite in ‘critical condition’




By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff reporter
Laoag City—“Adda kamin iti critical a sitwasyonen, appo, ken adda pay tay makit-kita dan a kasla bimmantayen ket saan mi met nga mailibak ta ngumato met a ngumato gapu iti kaadu a basura nga inaldaw-aldaw ti intero a Laoag”. [We are now in a critical situation, and we cannot deny what the people can now see that the garbage has reached mountainous proportions due to the daily volume of trash from the whole city]

Laoag City government engineer Roy A. Tomas made this statement on the city’s controlled dumpsite—a holding area which the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources-Environment and Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) designated as temporary garbage dumping site and which has reached the maximum volume of garbage.

Mr. Tomas disclosed that the city’s monthlong fiesta last February and the hosting of the Region I Athletic Association (R1AA) meet generated tons of garbage for the temporary dumpsite.

He added that the continuous increase of business establishments and residential houses in the city have also strained the maximum capacity of the said dump site.

The city government has planned for this eventuality by allocating PHP10 million last year from the city’s development fund for the construction of a sanitary landfill; and PHP2 million more as supplemental budget for the City Engineering Office as advanced payment for the lots that will house the landfill at Brgy. Balatong in this city, also last year.

Additional funding for the sanitary landfill has also been earmarked for the 2019 annual budget: PHP5 million from the development fund and PHP10 million for the payment of all the lots that will house the landfill.

The disapproved 2019 budget at the Sangguniang Panlungsod, however, has put a hold on the project. As a result, the sanitary landfill that was planned to absorb the city’s garbage remains incomplete.

Laoag Mayor Chevylle V. Fariñas confirmed Mr. Tomas’ statement with regards to the controlled dumpsite.

She said she believes the garbage at the site will soon reach the height of mountains.

The mayor stressed that they have allocated funding for the project starting in 2018 up to this year.

Ngem saan tayo met pulos a makakuti-kuti uray adda diay kuarta. Siguro mauma pay ket dagiti tattaon nga agdengdengngen ngem isu met iti pudno a nakailanad idiay budget iti 2019 a maysa kadagiti primary tapnu ma-addressan iti solid waste management,” Mrs. Farinas noted.

Mrs. Fariñas though lauded the owners of the lot at Brgy. Balatong for understanding the city government’s current situation.

With a reenacted budget for this year, the payment for the landfill’s lots will only be given once a budget is passed and the council authorizes the mayor to represent the city in negotiating for the purchase.

Records show that the proposed sanitary landfill site at Brgy. Balatong covers six hectares and residents of the said barangay have agreed to host the said edifice.

The city government earlier also conducted a series of public hearings attended by several city government officials headed by Laoag Vice Mayor Franklin Dante A. Respicio, department heads, Brgy. Balatong officials and residents.

City government assessor Ruben Domingo said the proposed project was approved by the residents provided that all the rule and regulations from construction and maintenance will be strictly followed.

Mr. Domingo added that the public hearing made is one of the pre-requisites for the issuance of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and for the payment of the lots affected.

In an earlier interview, Mr. Domingo noted that lots near the streets costs around PHP200 per square meters, while the those away from streets has a rate of PHP190 per square meter.

The total cost for the lot acquisition for the landfill is PHP12 million.

The city government of Laoag through the Sangguniang Panlungsod earlier approved PHP2 million as partial allocation for the purchase of lot on the proposed Laoag City Sanitary Landfill.

The amount was unanimously approved by all members and was certified by the City Development Council (CDC).

A soil testing for said lots was also conducted and approved for use by the DENR-Mines Geosciences Bureau.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has ordered the closure of the present controlled dumpsite.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Empanada festival: A celebration of good taste and good life

By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters BATAC CITY—If there is one thing Batac is truly proud of, it would be its famous empanada-making business that has nurtured its people over the years. Embracing a century-old culture and culinary tradition, Batac’s empanada claims to be the best and tastiest in the country with its distinctive Ilokano taste courtesy of its local ingredients: fresh grated papaya, mongo, chopped longganisa, and egg. The crispy orange wrapper and is made of rice flour that is deep-fried. The celebration of this city’s famous traditional fast food attracting locals and tourists elsewhere comes with the City Charter Day of Batac every 23 rd  of June. Every year, the City Government of Batac led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta commemorate the city’s charter day celebration to further promote its famous One-Town, One Product, the Batac empanada. Empanada City The Batac empanada festival has already become an annua

PIDS expert says income tax cuts justified; warns gov’t of revenue loss

Proposals to amend the personal income tax schedule appear to be well-justified. However, these proposals should include measures that will allow government to recover the revenue loss from lower income taxes. Dr. Rosario Manasan, senior research fellow of state think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), said at a seminar sponsored by the Philippine Senate, that government should look for new revenue measures to compensate for the projected revenue loss that will arise as a result of the implementation of any of the various proposals to restructure the personal income tax. Currently, there are several income tax reform proposals pending in both houses of Congress. All of them, according to Dr. Manasan, have the same objective of addressing the phenomenon of bracket creep, which results from “non-indexation to inflation of personal income tax brackets”. Simply put, bracket creep occurs when employees’ income increases over time as a result of inflation. Th

PGIN honors Ilocano heroes of past, present through Heroes Walk

SPO1 Allan Lampitoc Franco of Banna, Ilocos Norte and PO2 Jovalyn D. Lozano of Adams, Ilocos Norte receive a resolution of commendation, a certificate of college scholarship grant to their family members and a P20,000 cash incentive each from the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte represented by Governor Imee R. Marcos and Vice Governor Angelo M. Barba in recognition of their bravery and heroic acts in the Mamasapano clash in Maguindanao on January 25. Mr. Franco and Mr. Lozano were recognized on March 10 in time for the unveiling of the second batch of Ilocano heroes at the Heroes Walk located along the Sirib Mile in Laoag City.  (Lei Adriano) By Jennifer T. Pambid PGIN-CMO In honor of the heroes who brought freedom, fame and glory to the province as well as to the country in the past century, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) through the Education Department and Sirib Youth Office launched the second batch of Ilocano Heroes Walk on March 10, 2015.