‘Toxic’ dumpers behind bars

Three Quezon City residents were arrested Monday afternoon for allegedly dumping human waste into a canal along Felix Avenue in Barangay Santo Domingo, according to Cainta Mayor Keith Nieto.

Nieto disclosed that the arrests were made after the suspects were caught “in flagrante delicto” committing the crime. They have since been presented to the prosecutor’s office.

“I don’t know yet the result of the inquest proceedings,” Nieto said, noting that government lawyers were representing the municipality.

The suspects were identified as Epifanio Glamayo, Aljon Glamayo and Cedrick Anthony Peliño. They face charges for violating Republic Act 9003, also known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000; Republic Act 9275, the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004; and Municipal Ordinance 2023-012, the Environmental Protection and Waste Management Code of 2023.

Nieto explained that the charges stem from the “unlawful excretion, dislodging in the wrong place, and the non-use of a treatment facility for the collected human waste.” He stressed that such waste “should undergo a treatment facility to be processed because it’s a health risk if it ends up in the canal and our sewers.”

The mayor said that the human waste came from septic tanks of various establishments and was being dumped into canals along highways. He described the perpetrators’ method as subtle, using a closed van with a hidden tank inside.

Nieto cited this was not the first time such an incident had been reported, but it marked the first successful apprehension. Previous attempts to chase down offenders were unsuccessful.