Dumulog sa Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ang isang residente sa Bulacan para hilingin ang agarang pagpapasara ng dumpsite sa Norzagaray dahil sa paglabag sa sanitation at Environmental Laws.
Sa liham ng isang Joel dela Torre, residente ng Norzagaray, ay kanyang himimok si DENR Sec. Roy Cimatu na ipasara ang Waste Custodian Management Inc. o Wacuman na nag-papatakbo sa 18.8-hectare landfill na sumasaklaw sa Barangay Paradise III sa San Jose del Monte hanggang sa Sitio Tiakad sa Barangay San Mateo sa Norzagaray.
“Residents like me have had to suffer the effects of environmental degradation and the health hazards caused by Wacuman’s operations,” Sabi ni Dela Torre.
Nang mag-anunsiyo umano ang Wacuman nang pagbubukas ng kanilang sanitary landfill noong January 2008 ay wala aniyang Public Consultation at Public Hearing na nangyari. “there was no Public Consultation nor Public Hearing on the operation of the landfill.”
Matapos ang isang dekada, sabi ni Dela Torre “the environment and the people have paid the terrible price for its existence.”
“The residents of my community have certainly suffered from the detrimental effects of this landfill. We know for a fact that it is hazardous for the community,” saad pa nito.
Tinukoy ng complainant ang pagsabog na nangyari noong He cited August 2017 sa Wacuman na nagdulot ng pagguho ng gabundok na mga basura-mula sa mga kabahayan at hospitals. Ang masaklap pa aniya ay napunta ang katas ng mga basura sa Istrabiyal River-isang water system na tumatakbo mula Bulacan patungo sa Valenzuela hanggang sa Manila Bay.
Tinukoy din ni Dela Torre ang findings ng “Alliance for Consumer and Protection of the Environment (ACAPE), na ang Wacuman landfill ay lumalabag sa Presidential Decree (PD) 1152, na nagbabawal na magkaroon ng landfills malapit sa mga ilog at daluyan ng tubig.
Hindi rin umano kasama ang landfill sa land use plan ng San Jose del Monte o maging ng Norzagaray.
“Other environmental groups such as the Bangon Kalikasan Movement, Green Convergence and Ecowaste Coalition have joined our clamor to for Wacuman to cease their operations,” Sabi pa ni Dela Torre.
Batay naman sa pag-aaral na isinagawa noong February 2019 ng CRL Environmental Corporation (CRL), isang full service laboratory na nakatutok sa environmental services nakasaad, “on water samples from the area confirmed that the landfill brought ‘seriously reprehensible and unacceptable threats to health and environment.”
Dagdag pa nito, “residents in the communities near Wacuman have complained of various ailments. These include respiratory diseases in children such as cough, colds, and asthma. There are also those who have experienced seemingly chronic diarrhea and skin diseases. The foul odor that emanates from the landfill also significantly affects the quality of life of the residents.”
Sabi ni Dela Torre, plano niyang magsampa ng kaso laban kay Wacuman president and CEO Arthur Legaspi dahil sa paglabag sa Republic Act 9003 or o ang Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
“In particular, Wacuman’s existence goes against Rule 14, Section 1 of the said law, which mandates that ‘the location of the facility shall be consistent with the overall land use plan of the local government unit.’”
Panawagan ni Dela Torre kay Cimatu “help residents of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan–and the province of Bulacan in ge
neral–to be free from the curse that is Wacuman Landf
ill.”
