JOEL P. MAPILES
A Pampanga environmentalist challenged Governor Lilia “Nanay Baby” G. Pineda to invoke her political will in ordering the closure of all illegal open and controlled dumpsites in the 21 municipalities including the City of San Fernando.
This developed as Sonny Dobles, environmentalist and chair of the committee on environment of the Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon (ADCL) said the governor has no option but to file administrative and criminal charges against all mayors and barangay officials for blatant violation of Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, otherwise known as Republic Act 9003.
“If the governor is not playing politics, we dare her administration to use strong resolve and political will to save the people from the degrading environment due to indiscriminate dumping of waste and bring to jail those who deliberately violate the laws,” Dobles said.
It can be noted that Pampanga remains number 8 in the country in terms of waste generation and flagrant violation of environmental laws.
Dobles said the protection and preservation of the environment is imperative and the governor should be reminded that this is beyond patronage politics and friendship among local officials.
It can be observed that the governor has initiated several consultations and meetings on environment among the 5,370 barangay officials and all municipal mayors and other stakeholders.
However, the governor has expressed “disappointment” on the non-compliance of the local officials particularly the barangays on her call to put up material recovery facilities (MRFs) in their respective villages and her constant appeal to practice waste segregation scheme in every household has fallen in deaf ears.
It can also be noted that aside from the illegal dumpsites, the tributaries, canals and the Pampanga River” unwittingly” remain to be the biggest dumpsites of the province.
As the garbage problem in the province has reached an alarming proportion, Dobles said command responsibility and prudence dictate that the provincial chief executive as governor of the province should act now and show strong resolve before the waste dilemma may turn into a tragedy that we may regret to happen in the future.
