TOO MUCH TO HANDLE The municipal government of Alburquerque in Bohol wants to close this landfill used by the capital city of Tagbilaran and 17 towns because of costly operation and little income from tipping fees. —ALBURQUERQUE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OFFICE

Alburquerque, BOHOL — The municipal government here plans to close down the landfill servicing the provincial capital Tagbilaran City and 17 towns, raising concern among affected localities.

Alburquerque Mayor Don Ritchie Buates said they were considering shutting down the landfill, which was established with funds from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), as they could no longer handle the tons of trash from the 18 local governments with only one backhoe and a dump truck.

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The 4.14-hectare Alburquerque Cluster Sanitary Landfill (ACSL) in Barangay Dangay, about 12 kilometers from the capital city of Tagbilaran, was designed to receive 12.5 tons of waste daily but it is currently receiving 15.7 tons of trash a day, the mayor said.

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He said the town was not earning enough from the “tipping fees” for hosting the landfill that received about 25 truckloads or 15.7 tons of trash daily from Tagbilaran City and the towns of Alburquerque, Antequera, Baclayon, Balilihan, Calape, Catigbian, Corella, Cortes, Dauis, Dimiao, Lila, Loay, Loboc, Loon, Maribojoc, Panglao and Sikatuna.

The landfill also receives waste produced by at least four business establishments in Tagbilaran City.

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Bohol Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado and the mayors of the affected towns and city have opposed the landfill’s impending closure as they have nowhere else to send their garbage.

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In a meeting last Jan. 14, officials from the ACSL cluster members—composed of the 18 affected localities—asked Buates to reconsider his decision to close the landfill since thousands of households would be affected by its closure.

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On Jan. 16, Buates had another meeting with a Tieza representative, provincial officials led by Aumentado and the cluster members, where Buates and the affected parties agreed to first wait for the recommendation of Tieza and a promised backhoe from the Tagbilaran City government before taking action.

The P300-million facility funded by Tieza started its operation in 2017 when Edgar Chatto was governor of Bohol to help dispose of the garbage of several towns in the province. Chatto is now representative of Bohol’s first district.

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Buates, who heads the ACSL, said they were only left with a dump truck and a backhoe since the other heavy equipment given to Alburquerque in 2017 were no longer operational.

Preliminary data from the BSP showed that net income rose to P95.2 billion as of end-July, up by 414 percent from the P18.5 billion in the same period last year.

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ACSL earned P4 million from “tipping or gate” fees in 2024 but according to Buates it was not enough to buy another backhoe that cost P9 million.

Buates said they asked Tieza for help several times but were ignored.

He also relayed his plan to close down and rehabilitate the landfill to Chatto in October 2024.

Reminder

“They should be reminded that the Alburquerque Cluster Sanitary Landfill is a component of the tourism industry in the province. Once the landfill is completely closed, there will be no tourists here because Panglao will stink; Dauis, Tagbilaran will stink; Loboc will stink,” Buates said.

The four localities mentioned by Buates were among the top tourist destinations in the province.

He said he had suggested to the municipal council to craft a measure that would increase the tipping fee from P1,500 to P5,000 per ton of waste thrown at the landfill because the present rate was not enough to sustain the landfill’s operation.

Aumentado, meanwhile, suggested revisiting the Memorandum of Agreement among the parties involved to review their roles, improve the operations of the ACSL, and ensure the involvement of the provincial government.

Mayor Jane Yap of Tagbilaran said they were prepared to help by sending a backhoe to assist in the operation of ACSL.

Noel Yambao, a team leader of Tieza, assured the provincial government that it would address the matter and address the key issues hounding the landfill.

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These include sustainability of its maintenance operations, optimal operation of the leachate treatment pondbonus365, and a shortage of personnel and equipment.

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