CAVITE GOVERNOR Juanito Victor C. Remulla has sought help from the Environment department in building a sanitary landfill facility for the province, whose rivers contribute to the waste problem in Manila Bay.
In a statement on Monday, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the governor cited that 21 out of the 23 cities and municipalities in Cavite “did not have the capacity to put up their own solid waste facility because of land limitations.”
Mr. Remulla acknowledged that the province’s top environmental problem is managing solid waste, with an estimated 2,000 tons going to the province’s rivers per day. Of this volume, 90% flows to Manila Bay in the capital.
Cavite’s six major river systems are: Imus, Zapote, Rio Grande-Ylang-Ylang, Cañas, Labac, and Maragondon.
DENR and local government officials, led by Secretary Roy A. Cimatu and Mr. Remulla, recently met to discuss waste management solutions and the establishment of a sanitary landfill.
“We cannot complete the rehabilitation of Manila Bay if we will not solve the garbage problem in the province… The only way for us to solve the problem of Manila Bay is to solve the garbage problem and water quality of the rivers in Cavite,” Mr. Cimatu said.
The DENR chief explained that recent rains caused trash from waterways, including those from the Cavite rivers, to drift to Manila Bay, reversing the improvements made in the Baywalk area’s fecal coliform count and waste collection efforts.
Mr. Cimatu said the increasing presence of garbage in Cavite’s rivers may be an effect of the Environment department’s recent closure of all dumpsites in the province. — Angelica Y. Yang