Snail mail causes spat between Army and Binmaley's LGU

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

BINMALEY – Because of the late arrival of the mail from the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), the problem between the Army and the local government here went ugly.

FRICTION WITH THE ARMY. A smarting Binmaley Mayor Sam Rosario who is
 flanked by two of his village chiefs told media men how the snail paced letter-order
 for him to cease and desist in dumping the town garbage at Barangay San Isidro
 Norte from the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office caused the 
seizing by the Army’s 78th Infantry Battalion of the town garbage truck, the Army’s 
encroachment on the shoreline property of the town, and the failure of Brigade
 Commander Lt. Col. Edgardo Batinga to pay him a courtesy call as customarily 
practiced by his predecessors.
 Moreover, Councillor Dindo Merrera warned that the second failure of
 Batinga to attend the next session of the Sangguniang Bayan will prompt him and his 
colleagues to file an administrative case against him at the Ombudsman and their 
citing of him as Persona Non Grata. MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA 

Mayor Simplicio Rosario blamed the late arrival of the letter from  Leduina Co, chair of PENRO in Pangasinan, warning him of penalties under Republic Acts 7160 (Local Government Code) and 9003 (Solid Waste and Ecological Management Act) if he would not heed her call to close the garbage dumpsite at Barangay San Isidro Norte here.
The late receipt of the letter caused the seizing of this town’s dump truck by the personnel of the Army’s 78th Infantry Brigade when it was attempting to unload the garbage it carried at the village here.
“I received on June 19 the letter of PENRO that was dated May 20, the letter was in relation to the Army’s complaint aired at the KBP (Kapisanan ng Broadcaster ng Pilipinas) forum,” he told recently a press conference he called.
The Army through  Capt. Ljubomir Bangoc, civil military operations officer of the Army’s 70th Infantry Cadre Battalion based in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province, told the forum that this town threw its garbage collection at the Andres Malong Army Reservation in Barangay San Isidro Norte that undermines the beautiful beach here.
Bangoc said the mountains of garbages in the area had prevented the Army in conducting its training programs.
Rosario blamed the PENRO in using the post office on sending its communication. He said that since the letter content was critical it should have hand carried it to his office.
“If we received the letter on May 29, our truck would not be impounded since we would comply with the order “.
According to the dump truck driver he was flagged down by the Army personnel at 4 Am last June 16 where they took custody of his truck. He said they warned him not to throw garbage anymore.
What took the goat of Rosario was the Army asked his men to show a clearance from the Department of Environment & National Resources before they release the truck.
“Pero iyong  i-impound  mo at kukunin mo iyong dump truck na wala kaming pang hakot, naha-hamper ang serbisyo namin,” he said.
 Captain Bangoc howecer denied that the Army would not release the dump truck.

At the left side is the fence put by the Army at the salvage area to bar
 beach goers.

The Captain said the driver can get it from the reservation area anytime of the day.
Rosario said the furor brought by the dumping of the garbage at Barangay San Isidro Norte would not happen if he did not lose on the 2010 election.
He said he started developing the area by cementing the road going there in preparation for a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for this town’s rubbish.
Since he lost his last term election in 2010 to former Mayor Lorenzo Cerezo his MRF program did not push through.
He said he would comply with the letter of Co by crafting a memorandum of agreement with Urdaneta City for this town’s to throw its garbage at the sanitary landfill there.
“I will comply with the solid waste management. Kung iyan plano nila we will comply”.
He asked the people here to segregate their waste before the trucks can collect them.
Urdaneta City is a more than an hour ride from here.
He said this town coffer has enough funds to pay for the garbage tipping fee billed by the local government there.
Even Rosario acquiesced to the letter-order of the PENRO’s head, it did not bode well for him the demeanours shown by the 78th Infantry Battalion camp commander Lt. Col. Edgardo Batinga.
He cited the commander not paying him the customary courtesy call when he took earlier the command and the Army illegally built structure and planted coconut trees at the salvage area not owned by the camp.
The mayor complained too on the militarization of the beach area that is not included in the 19.1 hectares reservation areas.
“Beach goers and shed owners are apprehensive of armed soldiers prohibiting them not to trespass on the salvage areas,” he said.
Rosario said he talked with his lawyers for the legal action this town will file against the seizing of the truck and the Army’s encroachment at the salvage area.

No show for Lt. Col. Edgardo Batinga at the recent session of the town's
legislative council. Councillor Dindo Merrera warned the Army Battalion
Commander that the members of the August Chamber will sue him
administratively at the Ombudsman for his demeanours and would cite him
 as Persona Non Grata of the town.

Meanwhile, in the last session by the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) to clarify the problem brought by these brouhahas, Lt. Col. Batinga did not attend but instead sent Capt. Bangoc.
This did not sit well with the members of the August Chamber.
Bangoc failed to show a written authority from Batinga to attend in his stead when the members of the SB asked him.
The lawmakers told him they did not recognize his presence because of the absence of a written authority from his commander.
Councillor Dindo Merrera warned that failure of Colonel Batenga not to appear for the second time next week in the chamber would force the SB to sue him administratively at the Ombudsman and declares him as persona non grata of this town.