Dad wants to know why Pamocor dumps trash in a site with environmental issues

IS PAMOCOR qualified as the winning bidder of the garbage hauling and disposal services of Cebu City when it dumps trash in a privately-owned landfill in Aloguinsan town which has a standing cease-and-desist order (CDO) from the Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas (EMB -7)?

Cebu City Councilor Jun Alcover wants to know.

Pamocor, which won the bid in 2017, dumps an average of 600 tons of the city’s garbage in Aloguinsan and Consolacion daily.

But Alcover told reporters on Wednesday, that dumping the city’s garbage in a dumpsite facing compliance issues must be resolved first.

“It may not be a violation on the terms of reference which states that the dumpsites they selected should have documents certified by the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) such as the ECC. But why is the private service provider choose to dump in a landfill with a CDO?,” he added.

The CDO against the landfill in Aloguinsan, owned by Rafael Moreno, younger brother of Aloguinsan Mayor Ignatius Caesare Moreno, was issued after it failed to finish constructing its waste water treatment facility.

The facility would have ensured that the leachate from the garbage will not seep through the ground and into the water table below.

Residents have been complaining not only about the foul smell coming from the landfill but also about the possibility that without a waste water treatment facility, the water tables, which serve as their primary source of potable water, will be contaminated.

On top of this, Alcover, a member of the opposition Barug Team Rama–PDP Laban, also urged members of the city government’s Bid and Awards Committee (BAC) to be more thorough in checking the qualifications of future bidders.

Today, Thursday (June 14), the BAC is slated to conduct another round of public bidding for the city’s garbage disposal.

Cebu Daily News tried to contact Franklin Ong, proprietor of Pamocor, BAC Chairperson Ronald Malacora, and Department of Public Services (DPS) Chief Roberto Cabarrubias but failed to get their comments.

In an earlier interview however, Cabarrubias said their office is not aware of a standing CDO issued against the Aloguinsan landfill.

He assured, though, that it will not hamper the city’s garbage collection since Pamocor is also dumping trash at a landfill in Consolacion town, which is privately owned and operated by Asian Energy Systems Corp.