BAGUIO CITY — The city received some 30 offers as sites for its engineered landfill, aside from those previously evaluated, according to City Administrator Peter Fianza.

Fianza confirmed what Mayor Reinaldo A. Bautista Jr. has earlier mentioned that there are no contracts yet involving any offered lot.

In a media forum Thursday, Bautista said the city has not entered into any agreement with anybody for the engineered landfill site, contrary to reports that it has negotiated with Maria Carantes for a 40-hectare property in Itogon, Benguet.

According to Fianza, the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) has evaluated earlier offers and it came up with the Itogon property as the most qualified for the purpose. He said social acceptability negotiations have been done with concerned barangays but these still have to be reduced into appropriate resolutions.

“Meanwhile, other offers came that the CEPMO has to start from square one, evaluating all other offers,” Fianza said. The offered properties are in Sablan, Tuba, Itogon, La Trinidad, Tublay and Baguio City.

Fianza said, the proposed landfill site should be at least 22 hectares, as prescribed in the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 9003, or the Solid Waste Management Law.

Bautista said it would take the city at least one year to get the landfill ready. In the meantime, he said the city is into rehabilitating the collapsed retaining wall of the Irisan open dump, which was closed following its wall’s collapse.

On July 13 residents in Tuba and surrounding communities barricaded its entrance, posing a garbage crisis, which pushed the city executives into allowing the transport of solid wastes to Capas, Tarlac.

Bautista insisted the city is still within its time table as outlined in its 10-year solid waste management plan. # Lyn V. Ramo