Agents from the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila arrested 10 Dumaguete garbage collectors and drivers at the City dumpsite in barangay Candau-ay.
One of the arresting officers informed the employees of their rights and informed them that they were being arrested for illegally dumping garbage in a dumpsite that had been ordered closed, and that they had dumped garbage near the Banica river.
The city employees were brought to the NBI office where they were detained for a few hours.
Mayor Felipe Remollo assured the arrested employees that the City will defend them and convinced the NBI to release the city employees to him on recognizance, while the case is going on. They were eventually released shortly past 8 pm Thursday.
Remollo, meanwhile, wondered why of all the places in the Philippines which got dumpsite closure orders, the NBI had to target Dumaguete. “It’s true that there has been a closure order since the time of Mayor Agustin Perdices in 2006. But in the absence of an alternative dumpsite, we continued using the dumpsite, although with mitigation measures, such as garbage segregation, use of deodorizers and decomposition hasteners.”
Dumaguete dumps more than 40 tons of garbage daily.
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The mayor continued that under his leadership, the City had come up with a Safe Closure and Rehabilitation Plan which was approved by the DENR. The DENR also promised to give the city Php 12.5 million for this project.
Under this plan, the closure of the open dumpsite will be done gradually. DENR cannot order the abrupt closure of the dumpsite because there is no available facility to dump the garbage.
“Our authorities seem misinformed about what is happening in Dumaguete. They do not know we have been given a permit. But why Dumaguete? There might be unseen hands that have prompted the officials of the NBI or DENR,” he said. (IFBP)
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