ITOGON, Benguet — Residents of two villages here which will be affected by the construction of a huge engineered sanitary landfill for the province have reiterated their strong opposition to the establishment of the facility in the open pit mine site of the Benguet Corporation, saying it will pose a serious threat to the state of the environment and the health of the people living in the surrounding communities.

The provincial government, in coordination with a Korean-based company, is in the process of conducting a feasibility study for the construction of a multi-million engineered sanitary landfill in Antamok, Itogon, Benguet, particularly at the open pit mine site of the defunct mining company.

Residents of Luneta and Luacan, who will be affected by the establishment of the facility, claimed they will not take back the earlier opposition they submitted to the municipal government which they formalized against the plan of the Baguio City government to put up their sanitary landfill in the controversial open pit mine site.

They said the mining company must instead backfill the ravaged mountain and bring it back to its original state as earlier committed to the host communities rather than converting the same to a dump facility which is not favorable to the state of the environment and the health of the people.

Provincial officials were able to source out around $8 million from a Korean company to fund the conduct of a feasibility study to determine the limits of the construction of an engineered sanitary landfill which will be used by the province, including Baguio City.

However, the concerned residents asserted Benguet Corporation must not pass on the responsibility of bringing back the old state of their place to other modes like converting the same into an engineered sanitary landfill since it is their responsibility to develop the mined out area.

Some local officials pointed out that the engineered sanitary landfill to be constructed in Antamok will be utilized by various towns in the province in order for them to comply with the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act to avoid being administratively and criminally charged by the National Solid Waste Commission (NSWC).

La Trinidad, the capital of Benguet, is the only local government in the province that has already complied with the provisions of the solid waste management law when it was able to construct its controlled dump facility in Barangay Alno.

The law mandates all local government units to close the operation of their open dumpsites and convert the same into controlled dump facilities or establish their own sanitary landfill for the protection of the health of their constituents and the state of the environment in their areas of jurisdiction.