Dumaguete City Vice Mayor William Ablong, president of the Vice Mayors League in Oriental Negros, is blaming the national government for not helping local government units in complying with Republic Act 9003, requiring the creation of sanitary landfills.

Ablong said local governments, especially the mayors, are placed under pain of administrative sanction if they fail to follow the law, but have been left alone to comply with the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

The law orders that, three years after its effectivity in 1991, an open dumpsite shall be converted into a controlled one, and, not later than January 2006, a controlled dumpsite shall be converted into a landfill.

But Ablong said establishing a sanitary landfill will cost millions of pesos, which local governments cannot afford. This should have prodded the national government, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, to help the LGUs by providing experts and technical men, he added.

The DENR had warned about 21 city and town mayors in Oriental Negros that they may face administrative charges if they fail to comply with the law before Feb. 15 this year. The deadline has lapsed but the DENR has not yet taken any action against the mayors.*RA

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