Information researched about Typhoon Ondoy in 2009:

The following data is based on initial research conducted by volunteers of the STP Emergency Relief Campaign.  Additional in-depth research is needed to better understand the magnitude of the environmental destruction of the Philippines' natural resources -- resulting severe impact of the typhoon and flooding crisis of various communities.  Ultimately, we believe that the Philippine government’s negligence, misallocation of funds, corruption and the plunder of the natural resources by multinational corporations.  

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18 August 2009

 

Rizal landfill landslide due to mismanagement and faulty design according to green groups

Scientists and green groups released their initial assessment of the landslide that occurred almost a month ago in the landfill in Rodriquez, Rizal. The pool of geologists, engineer and environmentalists said that based on their observations, the landslide was caused not only by heavy rains but more of faulty technical design and mismanagement of the landfill operator, the International Solid Waste and Integrated Management Specialist (iSWIMS).

The study was put forth to hasten the investigation that was mouthed by local government officials and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) days after the incident that until now has not yet produced tangible results.

 

“The DENR should take the investigation seriously and stop the operation of the Rizal Provincial Landfill to prevent further damage and graver tragedies. As it is, the landslide has already caused contamination in the area and posed serious repercussions to the health and environment of the nearby communities,” warned Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan-PNE).

 

4 April 2009

 

Atienza called liar by environment groups over the San Mateo dumpsite fiasco

Residents of San Mateo, Rizal and environment groups under Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) and Coalition for Garbage-Free San Mateo have trooped the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)’s office in Quezon City today to protest the department’s dillydallying over the controversial San Mateo dumpsite project. The groups dumped garbage bags in front of the office’s gate to symbolize their protest and dismay over DENR’s indecisiveness.

 

“It seems DENR Secretary Lito Atienza and Environment Management Bureau (EMB) Director Julian Amador decided to just abandon their responsibility to correct the mistake in their issuance of environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and prosecution of San Mateo Sanitary Landfill Development Corporation (SMSLDC) for its violations and misrepresentation,” remarks Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of environmental activist group Kalikasan PNE.

13 January 2009

 

Dumpsite project threatens watershed

 

There is money in garbage. So true is this adage that local government units (LGUs) have taken it in a quite different way and are lured to engage in a profitable enterprise, at the expense of the environment and people’s welfare.

 

A dumpsite project spearheaded by San Mateo Municipal Mayor Jose Diaz with the support of the provincial government of Rizal through Gov. Casimiro Ynares III alarmed local residents late last year. The “sanitary landfill”, as they’d like to call it, was being constructed in Barangays Maly and Guinayang.

 

Initially, the landfill was to cover a 19-hectare area but is expected to expand to 200 hectares. The fact that it lacked prior consultation with the affected communities before the project began reveals much dubiousness on the legality, much more the acceptability and the real motives surrounding the project.

 

A DENR announcement last week of a P2.8 billion allocation from the national government for LGUs intending to shift from open and controlled dumps to sanitary landfills would give a clue as to why the LGUs of Rizal insist on building “landfills” despite previous termination of dumpsite operations in the province due to legal and environmental concerns. Being a first class municipality, San Mateo is likely to receive a 40% subsidy based on DENR Sec. Lito Atienza’s proposed fund allocation scheme. Sec Atienza has previously been very supportive of the provincial government’s move to maintain its “landfill” despite violations and opposition, as shown by the recent conflict between Gov. Ynares and Rodriguez mayor Pedro Cuerpo regarding the closure of a dumpsite in Cuerpo’s turf.

 

The operator San Mateo Sanitary Landfill and Development Corporation is also bounded by controversy for its questioned ability to operate a modern, environmentally sound and legally compliant landfill. The operator allegedly has a capital stock of only P10 million and a paid-up capital of only P625,000, whereas the declared estimated project cost is P380 million. Also, it failed to produce an Environmental Compliance Certificate from the DENR for the Maly-Guinayang project.

 

While the proponents are the ones who will largely benefit from this project, it is quite clear that the people, whose interest lies in the protection of the environment of San Mateo, their livelihood and health, are to lose.

 

For one, the new project was based on an earlier application to build a landfill in Brgy. Pintong Bukawe, which had been ordered closed by the Supreme Court in 2005 because the site was within the Marikina Watershed Reservation. The new one is only 3 kilometers away, and is still part of the reserve, making no difference at all. Such facility in the area, once operational, will produce large amounts of leachate that will seep through the ground, thereby polluting the soil, groundwater, and nearby rivers. This will jeopardize not only the health of immediate communities, but also the health of millions of residents of Metro Manila who get their water supply from the watershed.

 

Also, the 200-hectare area to be covered by the new dumpsite is part of a 473-hectare area designated as Protected Forest Area by the Land Use Plan of San Mateo. A study by University of the Philippines National Institute of Geological Sciences (UP-NIGS) concludes the San Mateo area being environmentally critical in nature, having slopes above 50 degrees that render it prone to landslides, flashfloods, erosion, massive soil wasting and other natural hazards. Removal of forest cover in the area to give way to the dumpsite will not only endanger lives of people in the communities, but will also destroy their sources of livelihood.

 

The danger of allowing such project is now being realized by the people of San Mateo who will not allow the welfare of the people and the environment to be put in jeopardy. Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment unites with them in demanding for the immediate closure and the prompt cessation of all activities for the construction and operation of such illegal and hazardous dumpsite.

 

20 July 2009

 

Environmentalists report President Arroyo term as most disastrous to the environment, Call legislators to boycott SONA

 

In a press conference, environmental groups presented their assessment of the performance of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in environmental protection and natural resources utilization. Citing a report on the state of Philippine environment, Kalikasan Peoples Network for the Environment labeled President Arroyo as the most vicious and most disastrous President that the country had.

 

“The Philippine environment is in a state of crisis. Instead of addressing this crisis, the eight year rule President Arroyo has made our environment more devastated and polluted. The Arroyo administration continues to allow big time loggers and commercial miners to destroy our forest,” says Clemente Bautista Jr., national coordinator of militant environmental group Kalikasan PNE.

 

The group cited that during Arroyo’s term, commercial logging and large-scale logging continue to cause widespread deforestation. The group reported 1,461,738 million hectares land is under logging concession while 668,403 hectares of land is under mining concession. The country as of 2006, has only 7.168 million hectares of forest cover or 24% of our total land area. The Philippines as a tropical country needs around 50% forest cover to remain ecologically stable. The group says mining and logging concessions are mostly located in forest and watershed areas.