COA: Lack of waste disposal facility in Baguio City cost local gov’t P472M

The lack of a solid waste management disposal facility in Baguio City has cost the local government more than P472 million in hauling and tipping fees, the Commission on Audit said in its audit report.

The COA said Baguio City had to haul its garbage to Tarlac City, where it paid hauling and tipping fees to collectors from 2011 to 2017, due to lack of space in the country's summer capital. It said hauling fees reached P254.5 million, while tipping fees were pegged at P217.9 million.

"A Solid Waste Management Disposal Facility was not established due to lack of suitable area to put up the integrated solid waste system contrary to the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 resulting in expenditures for hauling and tipping fees totaling P472,462,097.19 for the calendar years 2011 to 2017," state auditors said in the report.

Local government units are only allowed under the law to operate sanitary landfills as the final disposal site of solid and residual wastes.

The Supreme Court, however, issued a writ of kalikasan and a temporary environment protection order against the opening of a sanitary landfill, which forced Baguio City to haul its garbage to Tarlac City.

As of December 31, 2017, COA said Baguio City paid garbage collectors P935.50 and P550 in hauling and tipping fees, respectively.

The COA said garbage collections in Baguio City had an average of 50,000 tons in previous years, but the haul increased to approximately 56,000 tons in 2017.

Despite its appraisal of the city government's drive on waste reduction practices, COA said Baguio City's P427-million expenditure is still significant and could have been used for other development projects.

The city initially planned to build an integrated solid waste management facility in Mount Sto. Tomas, but local communities in the area opposed the project, according to the commission.

The General Service Office-Solid Waste Management Division, nonetheless, told state auditors that it is studying a proposal from Benguet Corporation for a site in Antamok area.

The COA urged Baguio City management to "fast track" the study and possible negotiation of the garbage facility with Benguet Corporation.

In its comment, the local government admitted that solid wastes in Baguio City had increased in 2017 and will study the possible lowering of hauling and tipping fees as it mulls tapping nearby Urdaneta City for the final site of its garbage. — BM, GMA News