QUEZON CITY -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has turned over the operations, maintenance, and management of a newly built sanitary landfill facility (SLF) to the government of Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province.

Former DENR OIC Secretary Joselin Marcus Fragada said that the completion of the engineered SLF serves as a “landmark accomplishment that will finally put an end to Marawi City’s long-time garbage problem.”

“The turnover of the 31.7-hectare SLF in Marawi City starts the ball rolling for the proper implementation of solid waste management in the historic Islamic City. We hope that the residents of Lanao del Sur province will make good use of it for the benefit of their health and environment,” he said following the turnover ceremony and unveiling of markers in Brgy. Malimono, Marawi City and Brgy. Kasanayan, Kapai town, in Lanao del Sur province on June 28.

Fragada said the facility is also the DENR’s contribution to the Comprehensive Marawi Recovery, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation Program.

During the event, DENR officials led by Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Michelle Angelica Go, who serves as the head of the DENR Sub-Committee on Land Resource Management of Task Force Bangon Marawi, signed a deed of donation and turned over a manual guidebook for the proper operation of the SLF.

Under the deed of donation, the DENR will prepare and implement a five-year solid waste management project for Marawi City.

It will also procure several units of heavy equipment, machineries, and tools for information and communications technology development.

The DENR will likewise be responsible for the cost of the fuel, service and maintenance of the vehicles, trucks, and heavy equipment, and their regular maintenance until the end of the project on December 31, 2022.

After the said period, the vehicles and equipment will then become the property of the Marawi City local government, and the expenses relative to the operation of the SLF will be at their cost.

The properties, however, will only be used for the purpose of the donation.

Go pointed out that the construction of SLF in Marawi City is a “result of collaboration and shared action among the officials of the DENR, Marawi local government, Lanao del Sur provincial government, and the Task Force Bangon Marawi.”

“When you do not have a sanitary landfill, where do you put the garbage? If you dump it elsewhere, it affects the environment. This emphasizes the imperative need for shared action among government, non-government organizations, stakeholders, and communities,” Go said.

Following the ceremony, officials of the DENR officials and the Marawi city government also planted pine tree seedlings to preserve the ecosystem near the SLF. (DENR)