By CESAR JOLITO III
Alyansa Kontra Basura (AKB), a newly formed civic coalition, has stepped up its campaign against the proposed memorandum of agreement (MOA) that would allow Victorias City temporary access to Bacolod City’s sanitary landfill in Barangay Felisa.
In separate statements released on July 5 and July 6, AKB urged the Bacolod City government and the Sangguniang Panlungsod to reject the proposal, warning that it could have long-term environmental, financial and public health implications for the city.
The proposed agreement, which remains under review by the city council, seeks to grant Victorias the temporary use of Bacolod’s sanitary landfill while it addresses the absence of its own waste disposal facility.
AKB lead convenor and labor advocate Wennie Sancho said the proposal is unfavorable to Bacolod residents, particularly those living in Barangays Felisa, Handumanan and nearby communities.
According to the group, Bacolod’s sanitary landfill is already receiving an estimated 1,700 to 2,500 cubic meters of waste daily.
AKB argued that accepting additional waste from Victorias would reduce the landfill’s lifespan and place additional costs on Bacolod taxpayers.
The coalition also questioned the lack of public consultations with residents of communities expected to be directly affected by the proposal.
It further called for the release of any environmental impact assessment related to the planned arrangement.
In a follow-up narrative titled “The Smokey Mountain Blues,” Sancho described the proposed agreement as effectively bringing another city’s waste into Bacolod.
While acknowledging that the proposal is framed as an inter-local cooperation initiative under the provisions of Republic Act No. 9003, the group expressed concern that the arrangement, though described as temporary, could eventually become permanent.
AKB maintained that Bacolod should prioritize solving its own waste management concerns and instead encouraged Victorias to establish its own sanitary landfill rather than rely on Bacolod’s facility.
The group appealed to city legislators to reject the proposed MOA, saying the decision would determine whether Bacolod protects its existing waste management capacity or assumes a greater role in accommodating waste from neighboring local government units.
As of this writing, Bacolod City officials have yet to issue a formal response to AKB’s statements, while deliberations on the proposed memorandum remain ongoing before the Sangguniang Panlungsod./CCJ, WDJ