The dumpsite in Barangay Felisa, Bacolod City, was offered by the Lopez family to the city government for free, acting Bacolod Vice Mayor Greg Gasataya yesterday said.

He said that during the meeting of the Clean and Green Coordinating Action Team yesterday he was supplied documents by the technical working group showing that the Lopez family allowed the city to use the 3-hectare property for free.

In 2005, Dynasty Agricultural Corp. manager Teodoro Lopez III wrote Mayor Evelio Leonardia that he is favorably giving his consent and/or approval for the city to use their lot in Felisa as a temporary dumpsite free of charge pending the construction of a permanent landfill.

The City Engineer’s Office survey team conducted a survey last week and their findings, according to engineer Nobe Jalbuena, also showed that the property being sold to the city is not the present dumpsite but an area adjacent to it, Gasataya, chairman of the SP Committee on Environment and Ecology, said.

The city was allowed to use the property for three years from 2005 until January 2008, he said.

He will endorse all the documents to the City Mayor’s Office and will furnish the City Legal Office a copy, he added. 

In July 18, 2006, Lopez also issued a notice to the city that the dumpsite was already filled up and, therefore, no garbage should be dumped there, Gasataya said.

Others present at the Clean and Green meeting were Architect Lemuel Reynaldo, engineers Efren Canlas, Josephus Cerna, Noel Impresso, Executive Assistants Valentin Jamelo and Pepito Malapitan of the Solid Waste Management enforcement team.

Meanwhile, the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod approved Wednesday an Appropriation Ordinance amounting to P4,570,886.10 for the implementation of programs and projects recommended by the Clean and Green Coordinating Action Team.

Gasataya said the amount will be used for the rental of additional dump trucks and the repair of garbage compactors of the DPS. He said the city has 22 dump trucks that are operational while three are under repair. They are planning to rent five units as reinforcement fleet to make the garbage collection in the city more efficient, he said.

Gasataya said the budget will also be used for the purchase of safety gears of the garbage collectors like reflectorized vests, masks and gloves. He said they will also furnish the enforcement team communication facilities, put up signages and purchase garbage bins to be placed in the downtown area.

The city will also revive the Clean and Green contest for the 61 barangays in the city, Gasataya said.

The budget will also be used for the city’s materials recovery facility (MRF) and educational and informational programs requested by the Clean and Green Coordinating Team, he said.*CGS

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