PALO, Leyte — A Leyte provincial board member raised an alarm over the transfer of 301 drums of medical and hazardous waste from Mandaue City to Leyte for treatment and disposal.

Leyte Board Member Wilson Uy said there was no prior consultation with the local government unit of Isabel town and other stakeholders. He added that there is scant information about the receiving company that will do the treatment, its facilities and capability, and it manages its effluent and discharge.

Earlier, Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano announced that it has the medical waste that has been stockpiled for months at the city’s former North Bus Terminal will be hauled to Leyte.

The city government has already signed a contract with Cleanway Environmental Management Solutions Inc. (CEMSI) which has a plant inside the Leyte Industrial Development Estate in Isabel, Leyte.

The medical and hazardous wastes include used syringes, blood-soaked bandages, chemical containers, and other contaminated materials, most of them from Mandaue City Hospital were uncollected for over a year due to delays in the signing of a contract with a new hauling service provider.

Uy said that while CEMSI is accredited with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, there should be a thorough and continuous monitoring of its facilities.

“Where is their discharge outlet? How do they neutralize and dispose the toxic by-products,” Uy said.

“Our environment and public health must always take priority. We will not settle for anything less than full transparency and absolute accountability — our province deserves no less,” Uy added.

Based on the agreement between the Mandaue City government and CEMSI, the hauling of medical wastes to Leyte starts on Saturday, 12 July, and is expected to transport within a week the contract’s 200,000-kilogram limit.

Uy said that instead of transporting them to Leyte, these wastes should be processed in Cebu City and Cebu Province. He said CEMSI has a branch in Consolacion, Cebu and three other companies that are DENR-accredited Treatment, Storage, and Disposal facilities that can process hazardous wastes.