Itogon seek clarification on Ampucao ESL
2 MIN READ
By ALMA B. SINUMLAG
www.nordis.net
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Itogon Mayor Oscar Camantiles forwarded a letter to the provincial governor, who at the same time chairs the Provincial Solid Waste Management Board (PSWMB) to conduct a dislosure presentation relative to the Engineered Sanitary Landfill (ESL) in barangay Ampucao.
In the said letter, it was stated that one of the municipality’s major component in their ten – year Municipal Ecological Solid Waste Management Plan (MESWMB) was a mandatory establishment of an ESL. Also, it was identified that the main location of the said ESL was a 440 vein open pit mining area of the Benguet Corporation in Luneta, Loacan.
However, the municipality learned that the province through the assistance of a Korean firm is currently negotiating with the barangay government of Ampucao, shifting the initially identified site.
Thus, Camantiles in his letter said they are requesting the PSWMB and the Korean firm to have a disclosure presentation to the MESWMB.
On the other hand, Governor Nestor Fongwan in an interview said the Korean firm had been negotiating with the municipal government of Itogon relative to the establishment of an ESL in the original location for so long.
“The Korean firm could no longer wait for the original plan to be materialized,” he said. And because the barangay government of Ampucao has a proposal, Fongwan said the firm ventured to the latter proposal.
Moreover, he said, Itogon could still continue establishing an ESL in the original location however, they have to look for another funder.
The Korean firm, Fongwan added, will be starting from zero. “They have to follow all the processes before starting the project,” he said.
With regards to the request disclosure presentation, the governor said they have already talked to the Ampucao Solid Waste Management Board to handle the request since they are one of the project proponents.
Earlier reports also stated Ampucao folk petition for the conduct of a free prior and informed consent (FPIC). It does not mean however that they are opposed to the said project. They said it is an assertion of their rights as provided in the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA).
They want to be informed of the project’s pros and cons and decide on whether or not to allow the establishment of said ESL with in their ancestral domain. # nordis.net
