Albur mayor Don Ritchie Buates said he has already acted on the alleged issue on the alleged garbage juice leaking from the sanitary landfill and into a river.
In an interview with the media, he said that he has already ordered a probe on the issue where it was alleged that garbage juice has been leaking into a local river.
He has already directed key personnel to look into the issue following allegations made on social media.
To recall, photos of alleged garbage juice coming from the landfill was leaking to the river.
He said that the local government is now tracing where the alleged leaks are coming from.
Buates lamented that the posting of photos might be politically motivated and urged stakeholders to help in solving the problem instead.
The landfill has been established in the town long before Buates became mayor in 2019.
Buates said he has met with Cong. Edgar Chatto about the landfill but was advised to meet with the cluster board first before making any actions that will affect the landfill operations.
He also shared that he communicated with Mark Lapid of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) to help Albur acquire heavy equipment as the town is unable to afford to procure some.
The earnings of the landfill operations is not enough to sustain the procurement of heavy equipment as the town also has other priorities for the fees generated in the use of the landfill, he added.
Buates said the heavy equipment given to Albur at the start of the landfill operations were too old as some were allegedly no longer operational.
The town has some new equipment but the sheer number of tasks make it impossible for the current equipment to perform the needed tasks.
He admitted the landfill management was dismal because of shortage of funds.
He has already suggested to the Sangguniang Bayan for an increase in the fees from P1,500 to P5,000 per ton of waste thrown at the landfill.
He is also preparing for a closure plan where he wants to set aside funds that will be used when the plan to close the landfill ensues.
He said he has no problem closing the landfill but such moves will severely impact the towns which are using the landfill aside from Albur.
He challenged the opposition to come up with solutions and not make any posturing to show they alone are concerned about the environment.
Albur landfill to shut down for rehab
Reports say that a shutdown in the operations of the Albur sanitary landfill is slated this coming week to place the facility into rehabilitation.
Mayor Don Ritchie Buates said he is looking to shut the facility down.
He said that his plan to shut down the landfill was relayed last year to Cong. Edgar Chatto about his plan to rehabilitate the landfills.
The landfill was built during the time of Chatto as governor of Bohol, with the aim of helping dispose the garbage of several towns in the province.