(Eagle News) — The Department of the Interior and Local Government has ordered over 100 local government units to explain why they failed to submit the required 10-year solid waste management plans to the Solid Waste Management Commission and to the DILG.
Assistant Secretary Jonathan Malaya said in an interview over CNN Philippines on Thursday, Feb. 7, that the 108 LGUs in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao have ten days upon receipt to respond to the show-cause order.
In a statement, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the explanations have to be “notarized.”
“If we are serious about protecting the environment, we really have to follow through with the implementation of these laws,” he said.
According to the DILG, of the 108, 78 are from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao—-31 of these are from Lanao del Sur, 18 from Sulu, 11 are from Maguindanao and nine each from Basilan and Tawi-Tawi.
The DILG said five LGUs in Mimaropa, eight from Region V, one from Region VI, and four each from Calabarzon, and Regions II, VII, and VIII will also receive the orders.
“If we find their explanations are insufficient, we will have no recourse but to file the appropriate case before the Ombudsman,” he said.
Provinces, cities and municipalities are required to submit 10-year waste management plans under the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.