Affected communities represented by the Manila Anti-Incinerator Alliance walked out of the second public scoping held by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) National Capital Region yesterday afternoon due to frustration and months-long intensifying violations that continue to be ignored.
Community leader Anora Madrid from Samahan ng Magkakapitbahay sa Upper Smokey Mountain detailed the proponent’s offenses and urged her fellow Smokey Mountain residents to walk out of the second public scoping. MAIA members share this sentiment. “Sana po pakinggan na kami ng DENR ngayon. Kailangan namin ng kakampi sa laban na ito.” We hope that DENR finally listens to us now. We need DENR to uphold its mandates now,” Community leader Edna Biscoro from Nagkakaisa at Nagdadamayang Marala Organization (NANAMOR) said.
Anora Madrid leads the walkout during the second public scoping for the Smokey Mountain Land Rehabilitation project.
MAIA has already raised issues on pre-construction activities, forced demolitions, economic displacements, and harassment during the first public scoping last June 2 even without the project proponent securing environmental permits and clearances. It also sent a formal letter to DENR EMB-NCR, which the agency received last July 6, urging the department to issue a cease and desist order for the Smokey Mountain Land Rehabilitation Project, prohibiting the said project from proceeding in the environmental impact assessment process and asserting that the proponent is violating environmental laws due to ongoing and intensified violations directly related to the project.
“Smokey Mountain is no longer the 1,000,000 cubic meters of legacy waste in an open dumpsite, the proponents want us to believe. There is already the presence of shrubs, vegetables, and trees. There is no longer visible smoke due to methane. The restoration was made possible in so many decades of development cooperation and community efforts. Now, the proponents are painting it as the Smokey Mountain it used to be forty years ago just to pave the way for a waste-burning facility”, MAIA stated.
A farce of a project
“The land rehabilitation and WTE projects have the exact same location, the same timelines, and the same objectives of preparatory activities of clearing legacy wastes in the already rehabilitated Smokey Mountain. This proposed project is merely a pretext for a highly complex WTE project to allow expedited clearing of the area for the incineration project,” Mayang Azurin, GAIA Asia Pacific Deputy Director for Campaigns. She also asserted that affected communities are also similarly ignored in both projects.
The Court Receiver of the Smokey Mountain Asset Pool and project proponent claims that the main rationale behind the land rehabilitation project proposal was to support the Supreme Court Mandamus on the Manila Bay Rehabilitation (G.R. Nos. 171947-48), a ruling mandating 13 government agencies and offices to clean, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay and improve its water quality.
MAIA said that the Court Receiver is not mandated by the Supreme Court Mandamus to rehabilitate Smokey Mountain. The mandate to initiate land rehabilitation projects in Smokey Mountain belongs to RII Builders, who signed the joint venture agreement with the National Housing Authority in 1994 to implement Presidential Proclamation 39 or the Smokey Mountain Development and Reclamation Project. “After forty years, project developers are now invoking environmentalism to restore the land for a future waste-burning facility”, MAIA added.
It was confirmed during today’s public scoping that the project proponent has no legal authority or judicial mandate from the Supreme Court under the Mandamus.
MAIA asserts that the proponent cannot rely on their receivership to undertake restoration, redevelopment, or construction projects in Smokey Mountain. “They will need a separate court order for that. The Court Receiver’s mandate is only to preserve the asset, settle financial disputes, and not to enterprise from the asset”, MAIA said.
The affected communities have made their demands loud and clear. DENR must respond to the people’s calls and end these projects that pose more harm than good for the people and environment of Smokey Mountain.
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About MAIA:
The Manila Anti-Incinerator Alliance (MAIA) is a coalition of community organizations and advocates opposing incineration and false solutions, and advancing zero waste, environmental justice, and the rights of urban poor communities. MAIA’s position is firm, unified, and grounded in community-led resistance. MAIA reiterates its demands:
Uphold the national ban on incineration as stated in the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act and Clean Air Act.
Immediately stop violent evictions and ensure on-site, in-city housing in Smokey Mountain.
End intimidation, fencing, and harassment by private security and barangay personnel.
Sign the petition! Click this link for the community petition: https://c.org/NsrxPwFJmG
Read the full case report entitled “The Smokey Mountain Waste-to-Energy Project: Arrested development and environmental justice in urban Manila.”
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Media contact:
Marvee Sambajon, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific Communications Officer for Campaigns, marvee@no-burn.org
