[ Manila Bulletin Online ] January 16, 2009
By DEXTER A. SEE
BAGUIO CITY — City officials are at odds again over the renewal of an agreement between the city government and the management of the sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac for the continuous dumping of the city’s garbage at the facility.
This developed as the city council failed to approve the proposal for the renewal of the agreement between the city government and the Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. (MCWMC).
The councilors cited various issues that have to be clarified by the city mayor in connection with the city’s obligations stipulated in the contract.
The council decided not to act on the proposed ratification of the agreement between the office of the mayor and MCWMC after most of the councilors said that the signing of the contract would legalize allegedly irregular payments for the hauling of garbage to the company.
These payments were not authorized by the city’s legislative body, they said.
But the city mayor’s office said the ratification of the agreement is one of the pre-requisites asked by the sanitary landfill management for the continuous dumping of solid wastes in Capas, Tarlac.
MCWMC, operator of the engineered sanitary landfill, threatened not to allow the city government to dump garbage at the facility if there is no agreement for the purpose.
But the council asked why the company is still requiring a memorandum of agreement when it has allowed the city government to dump wastes at the facility since last July even without the benefit of a written contract.
The city’s legislative body opposed a proposal of the mayor’s office to make the contract retroactive because it would mean that this would give legitimacy to past deals, which did not pass legislation.
