The Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment (NICE) Inc. formally submitted its statement at the Bacolod City Government Center on Monday, March 2, challenging the integration of Waste-to-Energy (WTE) into the City’s Ten-Year Solid Waste Management Plan without prior public consultation
While recognizing the urgent need to improve the city’s Solid Waste Management Program—especially as recurring flooding and increasing waste volume continue to affect communities and shape the urban landscape of Bacolod—NICE in a press release emphasized that solutions must be grounded in transparency, democratic participation, accountability, and sound science.
The organization noted that a formal request for a public hearing on Solid Waste Management was submitted as early as January 15.
Despite repeated follow-ups, no consultation was convened prior to the passage of the ordinance recognizing the Bacolod Integrated Recycling and Technology Hub with Waste-to-Energy as an anchor component, NICE said.
Documents requested on February 10 in relation to the project remain undisclosed to the public, it also said.
“In this current state of environmental corruption, hazardous governance should not move faster than public participation,” said Joshua Villalobos, NICE secretary general said.
“If the Waste-to-Energy project is being positioned as a long-term solution, then the City Government must fully disclose the technology to be used, the feasibility studies, and the environmental and health safeguards,” he said.
NICE is calling on Mayor Greg Gasataya, Vice Mayor Kalaw Puentevella, Councilor Homer Bais, Councilor Caesar Distrito, and the Department of Energy (DOE), as well as concerned city agencies, to conduct a series of open public consultations, he added.
NICE is demanding full public disclosure of the proposed technology, the release of feasibility studies once available, and the establishment of clear regulatory oversight and monitoring mechanisms to protect the citizenry.
The organization also questioned the policy of prioritizing Waste-to-Energy over the full implementation of RA 9003, or the Solid Waste Management Act.
NICE advocates for the institutionalization of a Zero Waste framework and a Just Energy Transition to Renewable Energy, noting that incineration is often promoted under the guise of “thermal WTE” despite long-term environmental and health implications that are well-documented to be catastrophic.
Katherine Dela Cruz, a NICE campaigner, stated that decisions on this scale cannot be made behind closed doors, asserting that the public deserves transparency, genuine consultation, and accountability.
NICE concluded that this issue is fundamentally about public health, environmental protection, and climate responsibility, and should not be taken lightly.
The group urged the Bacolod City Government to immediately conduct open public consultations and ensure that any step forward reflects informed and participatory governance.*
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