CEO assures safety, integrity of Irisan Ecopark retaining wall

The Irisan Ecopark retaining wall is safe and stable even after the 7.0 magnitude Abra earthquake that jolted North Luzon on July 27, 2022 with hundreds of aftershocks thereafter.

Safety and integrity of the structure was assured by Engr. Richard Lardizabal, chief of the City Engineering Office – Maintenance Division after his team conducted a rapid assessment of the Irisan Ecopark retaining wall on August 4, 2022.

Based on the rapid assessment, Lardizabal said there were visible hairline plaster cracks but “no major cracks and damages observed.”

He added there were no other hazards present on site therefore the structure is safe.

Earlier, City Administrator Engr. Bonifacio dela Peña assured the residents living below the former Irisan controlled dump facility that the retaining wall is safe and the stability of the structure is guaranteed.

Dela Peña, being the dean of Saint Louis University then, was personally involved in the designing of the retaining wall after the deadly trash slide on August 27, 2012 due to Typhoon Mina.

The city government has been working on the transformation of the 5.2-hectare former Irisan dump site into an ecopark since 2019 with P18 million fund spent for the first phase.

The conversion of the former Irisan dumpsite into an eco-park is part of the commitment of the local government to the Court of Appeals (CA) as an offshoot of the Temporary Environment Protection Order (TEPO) that was issued after the filing of an environment case against the city due to the tragic August 2012 trashlide that resulted to the untimely demise of innocent individuals living below the closed dump facility. – JMPS