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By Nelson F. Flores
REP. Jovito Plameras Jr., the lone congressman of Antique,
yesterday opposed the plan of Greater Metropolitan Manila
Solid Waste Management Project chair Robert Aventajado to
dump Metro Manila’s waste on an island in his province,
dashing hopes that there would be no garbage crisis by
yearend.
The Inquirer learned that Plameras early this week wrote
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chair Jejomar
Binay rejecting the plan to make Semirara Island an alternate
dump for Metro Manila garbage.
It was also learned that Aventajado was unaware of this recent
development.
Sources at the MMDA said Binay simply shrugged after
receiving the letter from Plameras.
A coastal town in Zambales was earlier reported to be Metro
Manila’s new dumpsite but later reports showed that the
historic Mariveles town in Bataan is the actual preferred site.
Plameras said Aventajado’s proposal would degrade Antique
and invite ecological disaster.
He said the coal mine pit of DMCI/R-2 Builders on Semirara
Island is already six feet below ground level, making it highly
likely that toxic leachate would pollute the sea and sources of
potable drinking water.
Plameras said Semirara is also earthquake-prone.
According to a Department of Environment and Natural
Resources report, Semirara is a bird and turtle sanctuary and is
surrounded by corals and sharks.
"It is being promoted in the international community through
the Internet as a tourist destination," Plameras stressed as he
expressed surprise that Aventajado chose Antique.
The congressman said Aventajado’s plan would lead to the
dumping of about 6,000 metric tons of Metro Manila garbage
daily.
He said the operation of the Semirara landfill and of the
Mariveles dump would cost the government P2 billion.
Aventajado earlier announced that there would be no garbage
crisis by yearend following an agreement among the members of
the Metro Mayors Council that Semirara and Mariveles would
be Metro Manila’s new dumpsites.
Aventajado said barges would bring Metro Manila’s waste to
Semirara and Mariveles. Although the means of transporting the
waste is expensive, it is the only viable solution to a major
garbage crisis, he said.
The San Mateo sanitary landfill in Rizal province is scheduled to
be closed at the end of the year. The MMDA has not found an
alternative dumpsite after more than a year of looking.
Attempts to reopen the Carmona sanitary landfill in Cavite were
foiled after Cavite residents protested, citing the dangers that
the landfill would pose to people’s health and the environment.