CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Bishop Jose Oliveros of the diocese of Malolos, Bulacan has issued a pastoral letter which slammed the proposed building of a sanitary landfill over a 100 hectare lot between Doña Remedios Trinidad and San Jose Del Monte City, saying the project would be life threatening.
Oliveros warned of serious adverse effects of the project not only on the environment, but also on the health of some 800,000 residents of San Jose Del Monte (SJDM) City, the most populous town in Bulacan.
In a three- page pastoral letter, Oliveros cited studies indicating that four drops of leachate from such landfill would be enough to contaminate 20,000 gallons of water. Leachate refers to the liquid by product of wastes that could penetrate through the ground.
The bishop said it is the responsibility of the diocese to be the “firm protector of life” and to “refute the powers which threaten to end it.” But Bruce Williams, operations manager of the company behind the proposed landfill proposal, said he expected such protests which he described as normal for landfill projects worldwide.
“No landfill anywhere in the world has not encountered criticisms, including from religious groups. They always do that,” said Williams.
San Juan del Monte Mayor Reynaldo San Pedro said, however, that city officials are still deliberating sanitary landfill proposal amid the mounting garbage output of their city.
“How could we achieve a better city if we could not even manage to dispose our garbage properly?” San Pedro remarked.
Oliveros, meanwhile, called for the vigilance of people as “dutiful caretakers of the creations of God.” He said the public could partake in the Church’s call for zero waste management through segregation and recycling of wastes.
Earlier, Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado signed the new Bulacan Environment Code which sets guidelines on proper authorization in the construction of sanitary landfills in the province, as well as in mining and forestry.
