The City Council confirmed the memorandum of agreement entered between the city government and Urdaneta Waste Management on the use of the latter’s engineered sanitary landfill in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan for the disposal of the city’s residual waste.
On January 11, 2019, the city government, through the former Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, entered into an agreement with the management of the Urdaneta Waste Management to utilize its engineered sanitary landfill in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan to dispose the city’s residual waste within a period of 2 years starting on January 1, 2019 up to December 31, 2021.
The aforesaid agreement was submitted on January 16, 2019 to the city legislative body for confirmation but the former members of the council did not act on the matter thus the same was carried over to the next set of city legislators.
Upon assumption of the new set of city officials last July 1, 2019, the city legislative body’s Committee on Laws forwarded the aforesaid agreement to the new city chief executive for comments, recommendation and appropriate action based on an endorsement dated October 10, 2019.
In a letter dated November 15, 2019 duly received by the Office of the Vice Mayor on November 18, 2019, Engr. Felipe Puzon, Jr., by authority of City Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong, requested the said agreement be confirmed since the said landfill is currently being utilized as a repository of the city’s residual waste.
The city legislative body underscored the request is considered as a confirmation of the terms and conditions of the agreement by the city government represented by the incumbent mayor.
Under the agreement, the city government is obliged to bring all residual and some portions of mixed solid waste to the Urdaneta sanitary landfill; ensure the solid waste materials brought to the landfill contains no medical or toxic or hazardous waste from hospitals and clinics, and to pay the landfill operator the required tipping fee of P550 inclusive of value added tax per ton within 3 days from the date it receives the billing from the operator.
On the other hand, the landfill operator will be responsible to cause the delivery of the waste materials coming from Baguio City to the landfill which is under its control and management and assure that said materials are received in the facility; conduct inspection and monitoring of the delivered solid waste materials prior to getting inside the landfill facility and deliver the billing documents to the city government every 15 days to allow the city to facilitate payment of its account.
The agreement stated that any amendment to the same could be initiated by either party and shall form part of the document upon mutual consent and any violation of the provisions of the same by one of the parties shall be sufficient ground for its termination.
Earlier, the city government had been dumping its residual waste at the Tarlac-based Metro Clark Waste Management Corporation in Capas, Tarlac but the Urdaneta Waste Management offered to the city a much lower tipping fee that compelled it do consider the proposal and transfer the dumping area to the much nearer landfill facility which had been going on over the past several years.
By Dexter A. See
