BAGUIO CITY – The Metro Clark Waste Management Corporation (MCWMC) notified the Baguio City government on the impending increase of the tipping fee that the company is charging for every tone of residual waste dumped in its Capas-based waste disposal facility effective January 1, 2018.
In a letter to Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, MCWMC Marketing Supervisor for LGU Elaine M. Sese explained that the increased tipping fee charged to local governments will P150 per ton of residual waste increasing the existing P500 to P650 due to the increase in the prices of diesel fuel and equipment parts which are major components of their operations.
“We are not happy about this notice, but we are confident you will continue to be pleased with our services even in light of this new rate and find it to be quite reasonable and competitive. However, we will not be able to serve you if our business incurs losses,” Sese stated.
The MCWMC official expressed the company’s gratitude to the local government for being a loyal and consistent customer and as the city’s committed partner, the company has never compromised the quality of its services even in the hardest of times and continue providing efficient sanitary landfill services in the city’s compliance with the pertinent requirements of Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
She promised the local government that the company endeavors to keep going with the said goal but due to rising cost of operation, an increase in rates is an apparent necessity.
According to her, although the company is taking all possible measures to maintain its rates over the years, there has been an undeniable rise in prices forcing them to increase the tipping fee charged to their customers to address the said dilemma that it had been experiencing over the past several years.
Baguio City and Metro Clark have an existing one-year waste disposal agreement which will expire on December 31, 2017.
Sese said the company wants to receive the response of the local government on whether or not to renew the waste disposal agreement for next year by November 30, 2017 to allow the firm to prepare the appropriate documents to ensure no disruption of their service to the city.
Under the waste disposal agreement, the rates charged to the local government are tax exempt due to Metro Clark’s status as a locator inside the Clark Freeport Economic Zone and that the basis of billing will be in tonnage to be determined at the weighbridge station of the company.
Further, the local government will present or issue corresponding trip tickets or dispatch tickets to the hauler of its residual waste to validate the origin of the waste for billing, monitoring and reporting purposes.
The agreement mandates the local government to submit a complete list of its authorized transport vehicles and indicating therein pertinent information of the vehicle and that the said proposal is valid for the prescribed period.
By Dexter A. See
