The city as well as 16 municipalities continue to await the full operation of the Albur Cluster Sanitary Landfill which was supposed to commence last Wednesday.

Another meeting of the respective mayors is scheduled on Thursday at the site in Albur town. 

The P300 million cluster landfill complex is considered as first in the country to cater to seveal towns. 

Albur Mayor Elpren Charles Tungol told the Chronicle that the landfill is now 100% operational and will start catering tp waste from the city and 16 clustered towns.

The operation of the landfill formally unveiled 15 years after it was conceived with the signing of the MOA between the Alburquerque local government unit and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA). The 6.9 hectare facility will be turned over which will put to test as the town beneficiaries, including the city will start bringing their residual wates to the dumpsite.

Former Albur Mayor Efren Tungol said the landfill has modern features  and is considered as the “most technically advanced” residual waste disposal facilities.  

Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto lauded the municipality government of Albur for pushing with the completion of the landfill project despite the previous problems.

“It takes political will to complete the project and that local government was able to do that,” Gov. Chatto added.

The Albur municipal government and 16 other LGUs, with the assistance of TIEZA, had pushed for the construction of the sanitary landfill in compliance with the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2001, or Republic Act (RA) 9003.

RA 9003, signed into law by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2001, provided for the closure of all open dumps in favor of sanitary landfills and ordered the segregation of recyclable and non-recyclable wastes. The law set a deadline on March 31, 2017 for local officials to close their open dumpsites or else they be charged for environmental violations at the newly established Environmental Ombudsman.

FINALLY AFTER 15 YEARS

An existing agreement signed between the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), the forerunner of the TIEZA headed by General Manager Robert Dean S. Barbers and former Mayor Efren Tungol in February 21, 2007 authorized the municipality of “taking over the operation, management, administration and maintenance of the Sanitary Landfill” was the basis of the new MOA executed between TIEZA and incumbent Mayor Elpren Charles Tungol on Friday.

Governor Chatto hailed the turn-over and operation of the ACSLF as the “fulfillment of a concept hatched 15 years ago seeking a collaborative effort to meet the waste disposal needs of the province in the next 20 years.”

Chatto who was then congressman of the 1st district of Bohol succeeded in sourcing funds from the defunct PTA for the initial funding of phase 1 of the P300 million project said “this will be the first cluster sanitary landfill in the country serving several municipalities.”

PROBLEMS RESOLVED

Former Mayor Efren Tungol clarified that the turn-over from TIEZA included the “conditional transfer” of the 14 lots they bought for the construction of the landfill while titling requirements is currently under process.

The present MOA forged between incumbent Mayor Tungol and Atty. Guiller Asido, the COO of TIEZA, ensures the continuity and the success of operation of the cluster sanitary landfill by turning over to the municipality of Albur the operation, administration and maintenance of the facility.

The MOA will also serve as the basis for the municipal government and the other 16 LGU-members of the cluster to appropriate adequate funds to the full implementation and operation of the landfill.

Under the MOA, TIEZA which provided full technical and financial support for the construction and development of the landfill, undertakes to complete the titling process of the properties where the landfill complex is located. TIEZA will also execute the appropriate legal instrument(s) to transfer full title and ownership to the municipality of Albur.

The MOA further provides that while said properties are being titled, TIEZA allows the full and complete possession of the facility by the municipality.

Incumbent Mayor Tungol, son of the former mayor, also clarified that the acceptance of the landfill hinges on the strict implementation of the approved specifications and standards of the project.

Tungol said a 5-day “dry run” of the cluster landfill in September last year that saw the residual wastes weighed at 4,320 kilos of sixteen municipalities and the City of Tagbilaran disposed in Barangay Dangay.

Tungol expressed optimism that “all concerns have been sufficiently addressed” by the project stakeholders.

The original 11 towns has grown into 17 towns that will dispose their residual wastes in the ACSLF including Tagbilaran City with an estimated more than 30 tons of garbage produced daily.

The ACSLF Cluster Board headed by Mayor Tungol agreed to fork out “seed money” of P100,000.00 each for the operation and maintenance of the landfill and will be assessed a disposal or tipping free of P1,300 per ton.

The ACSLF will not accept direct garbage disposal and will require all garbage trucks to secure a certificate that the garbage to be disposed were inspected by personnel of the municipal transfer stations.

Each municipal will dump their residual wastes once a week with Tagbilaran City given the option to dispose their wastes more than once a week in consideration to the volume of their trash.

According to the Waste Assessment and Characterization Study (WACS) conducted by the Bohol Environment Management (BEMO) in 2015, daily residual waste produced by the 17 cluster members was 39,317 kilograms.

The top three biggest daily residual waste generators were Tagbilaran City – 9452, Baclayon – 8,820 and Panglao – 3,510.

Dauis – 3,241, Loon – 2,983, Maribojoc – 1,604, Calape – 1575, Loboc – 1,444, Corella – 970, Dimiao – 914, Balilihan – 832, Antequera – 830, Loay – 803, and Sikatuna – 790.

The towns of Lila – 185, Cortes – 617, and Alburquerque – 747 rounded up the bottom of the 16 towns that generated the least residual waste.

Other members of the ACSLF Cluster Board are Sikatuna Mayor Jose Ellorimo, Jr., Vice Chairman, Balilihan, Mayor Pureza Chatto, Secretary, Baclayon Mayor Benecio Uy, Treasurer.

Elvie Peter Relampagos, Committee Chairman, Legal and Financial, Calape Mayor Nelson Yu, Committee Chairman, Technology and Innovation and Corella Mayor Jose Nicanor Tocmo, Committee Chairman, Sanitary Landfill Operations and Community Relations.