Families in Talisay’s Old Dump Site Face Health Risk

A representative of the Philippine Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) expressed fears that the families living in the former dump site in barangay Biasong, Talisay City may be risking their health.

PCUP representative Ma. Llora Llayon said these families are exposed to the toxins which could be emitted anytime from the closed dump site. Llayon was referring to the hundreds of urban poor families that the city government has allowed to build houses in Biasong dump site, before the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)could give clearance to it.

Llayon said the said dump site still gices off odor, which may be methane gas from the old waste underneath. The city in 2005 put trucks of limestones to this old dump site as part of the closure process, but instead of waiting for several years to complete the process, it already allowed people to live there. Llayon said it is like allowing the people to live in the actual dump site except that it is covered with limestones.