Within thirty (30) days of the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), the operation and management of the Bakakeng Central Treatment, Storage and Disposal – Materials Recovery Facility (TSD-MRF) shall be transferred from Bakakeng Central barangay as represented by Punong Barangay Dan Daniel, to the local government of Baguio as represented by Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
The MOA signing took place last Friday, July 11, at the Pedro Dumol Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) Hall, during the Liga ng Mga Barangay and Punong Barangays meeting.
Said Bakakeng Central TSD – MRF is the subject of a cooperation agreement on Sept. 25, 2023, where for the past two years, it has been the venue for dismantling Waste Electrical and Electronics Equipment (WEEE) to recover valuable parts and ensure that hazardous components are properly handled and transported to accredited, registered TSD facilities for appropriate treatment and disposal.
Entities in the cooperation agreement signing for the implementation of PCB Management Programs for Electric Cooperatives and Safe E-Wastes Management were the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Ecological Waste Coalition of the Philippines (EcoWaste), Integrated Recycling Industries (IRI), Philippine Long Distance Telephone, Inc. (PLDT), Smart Communications Incorporated (SMART), and the City Government of Baguio.
The MOA last Friday however stipulates that Barangay Bakakeng shall turn over the operations, management and control of the existing facility, all records, operational documents, existing and functioning tools and equipment in good condition to the city, except the land and building, and cooperate with the city during the transition and facilitate communication with the stakeholders.
The city in turn assumes the operational, management and maintenance responsibilities for the facility upon the completion of the turn-over, ensure compliance to existing and environmental rules and regulations during the management phase for the facility, and see to it that the expenses needed for the facility’s operations are subject to accounting and auditing rules and regulations and other related policies.
The city also undertakes the process of hiring qualified personnel for the operations and maintenance of the facility, return all tools and equipment in good condition and shoulder the cost for the transport of hazardous waste components of dismantled e-waste for treatment and disposal.
The agreement may be renewed and modified upon written notice by either party as it shall only be until the term of the incumbent Punong barangay, in this case, PB Dan Daniel.
Pre-termination for the agreement by either party for any reason may also be done, with written notice within 90 calendar days. If ever that happens, the city returns all assets, tools and equipment to the barangay.
Any issue arising during the period of agreement shall be jointly resolved by the city and barangay, the MOA states.
Signing the MOA were Mayor Benjamin Magalong, CEPMO assistant head Engr. Marivic Empizo who represented CEPMO head Atty. Rhenan Diwas, Punong barangay Dan Daniel and Kagawad Gerino Dollente, committee chair on ecological and solid waste management.
Witnesses during the signing were Wastewater and Hazardous Waste Management Division head Engr. Wilbur Suanding and WHWMD personnel, Engrs. Charlene Pengla and Ronaldo Ballecer, and Kagawad Samson Amistad, Bakakeng Central appointed Indigenous Peoples’ representative. **jgfianza, with reports from WHWMD – CEPMO
