By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
While the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) search and rescue personnel continue to sift through the rubble of the trash slide at the Binaliw Sanitary Landfill, the DENR expressed condolences to the kin of those affected by the incident.
As of press time, 16 casualties had already recovered from the disaster site, with rescuers continuing to comb the remains as they noted signs of life amid heaps of trash, twisted metal, and crumbled concrete.
Earlier, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued an immediate cease-and-desist order to the landfill’s operator, Prime Integrated Waste Solutions, Inc. (PIWSI), in a bid to facilitate a thorough and factual investigation on the trash slide incident.
The CDO directs the facility to cease all sanitary landfill operations, including the acceptance of waste, except for rescue, retrieval, and cleanup operations in coordination with concerned agencies. PIWSI has also been called to a Technical Conference to establish facts and execute a compliance commitment within a period not exceeding 90 days.
The CCDRRMO, moreover, declared a state of calamity following the tragedy, as efforts to clean the mess and ensure that all those buried under the rubble were accounted for continue as of press time.
Meanwhile, in a media release on Tuesday, Environment Secretary Raphael Lotilla ordered the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and the DENR – Region VII to formulate interventions to ensure safety and containment in the sanitary landfill vis-à-vis developing long-term plans for Cebu’s solid waste management system.
Such would include a closer look at the operations of other waste disposal facilities in the island province, to identify weaknesses and note points for improvement to ensure the safety of workers and residents living in the vicinity of these garbage collection and processing sites.
Further actions would involve coordination with LGUs and national partners, deployment of technical teams, and regulatory enforcement and due process, which would ensure that operators of these landfills will be held accountable for cases of non-compliance with legal and administrative procedures.
jpv
