Baguio execs face graft raps

(philstar.com) | Updated December 10, 2012 - 4:07pm

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines Baguio City officials from the mayor, vice mayor down to 11 city councilors and a village
chief are facing corruption raps before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly receiving grease money for their
approval of a trade fair.
Those facing corruption raps are City mayor Mauricio Domogan, Vice Mayor Daniel Farias, Councilors Nicasio Aliping,
Isabelo Cosalan, Elmer Datuin, Peter Fianza, Edison Bilog, Richard Cario, Perlita Chan-Rondez, Fred Bagbagen, Erdolfo
Balajadia, Nicasio Palaganas, Joel Alangsab and village chief Vicente Pinlac of AZKCO barangay.
Trade fair organizer and businessman Abdulmajid Macre has filed the case before the Ombudsman, alleging that city
officials abused their authority, committed grave misconduct, dishonesty and violated the Code of Conduct of Public
Officials when they pocketed sums of money purposely to approve a trade fair at the Igorot Garden here.
Macre was reportedly contacted by Punong Barangay Pinlac to provide tents and enlist tenants for their trade fair and
barangay fund raising last year.
After supposedly giving sums of money ranging from P50,000 to P100,000 each of the officials, the trade fair never
prospered, yet another city-led trade fair operated in the same area.
Only Councilors Philian Weygan-Allan, Betty Lourdes Tabanda and Karminn Dinney Yangot were spared from the
complaint.
All denying Macres allegations, city officials led by Domogan cried harassment and said th complaint is baseless.
Domogan is facing at least two other Ombudsman cases lodged by anti-corruption group Linis-Gobyerno led by Odell
Aquino for allegedly taking bribes together with policemen in various fund-raising drives in the city including bingosocial activities that allegedly have become fronts of gambling activities. - Artemio A. Dumlao

Benguet, La Union to file kalikasan writ vs Baguio dump

By Artemio Dumlao | Updated December 11, 2011 - 12:00am
TUBA, Benguet, Philippines - Officials of Benguet and La Union provinces are set to file a petition for a writ of kalikasan
with the Supreme Court (SC) next week to compel Baguio City to close down and rehabilitate the Irisan dump.
Benguet Rep. Ronald Cosalan, who led the signing of the writ yesterday, said he will personally deliver the document
to Baguio officials, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Supreme Court. He added that he
hopes the SC will issue a temporary environmental protection order.
He said residents living near the dump attest that it is still very much open despite Baguio City officials declaration
that the dump has been closed. Lawyers Francisca Claver, Pablito Sanidad, Noe Villanueva and George Pucay said they
will submit affidavits to back up their claim.
The petitioners are seeking redress after tons of garbage from the dump buried alive a sexagenarian woman, three of
her grandchildren, and two others in Tuba during typhoon Mina on Aug. 27. Health officials said the garbage avalance
contaminated nearby water systems.
Cosalan said they want Baguio officials to sit down with them and craft a comprehensive plan to face the problem.
Baguio Rep. Bernardo Vergara and Mayor Mauricio Domogan have been insisting they are finding ways to solve the
problem and are assisting Tuba residents affected by the disaster.
Domogan said he will react once he gets a copy of the writ.

Baguio under state of calamity over trash slide; typhoon, rains seen to further erode dump
By: Robert Gonzaga, Vincent Cabreza
06:32 PM August 31st, 2011
BAGUIO CITYThe city council declared Baguio under a state of calamity during a special session on Wednesday,
following almost two hours of debates over who was to blame for the August 27 collapse of a section of a
decommissioned dump in Barangay (village) Irisan here.
Councilor Peter Fianza also convinced the citys environment office and its engineering office to study whether
removing the whole mountain of trash was more cost-effective. He said restoring the dump and its closure plan may
cost the city government more than P100 million.

On Saturday, a section of the dump was washed out by heavy rains dumped by Typhoon Mina, causing tons of
garbage to slide down to a mountainside community on Asin Rd., killing five people and burying at least three houses
there.
Some councilors were initially skeptical about supporting a resolution that sought to declare Baguio under a state of
calamity, after pointing out that Republic Act 10121 (Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010) may not
allow the release of calamity funds for the accident that affected two communities.
The calamity funds made available by the resolution could amount to more than P90 million.
More than P20 million would be spent on fees for hauling the trash blocking Asin Road to a sanitary landfill run by the
Urdaneta City government in Pangasinan, said Councilor Elmer Datuin.
Vice Mayor Daniel Farias, the council presiding officer, urged the councilors to heed the expert opinion provided by
several agencies that the 38-year-old dump in Barangay Irisan could further erode from monsoon rains or the entry of
another typhoon.
Based on an inter-agency evaluation conducted this week, city environment officer Cordelia Lacsamana said floods
created by runoff rainwater pushed a corner of the dump down toward a concrete reinforcement wall.
She said the combined weight of the garbage and water that seeped through the dump caused the wall to burst
Saturday afternoon.
The mountain of trash had been terraced to ensure it would not topple, but its full weight was shouldered by the
concrete wall that was designed by city engineer Leo Bernardez.
When pressed, Bernardez insisted that his design was sturdy.
To reduce the risk of another trash slide, Lacsamana said one of the citys options is to lighten the load of the dump by
moving trash out of the west end of the facility.
But Fianza urged them to weigh the cost of removing all trash from Irisan, if city officials could not assure people that
another trash slide would not be repeated.
In Olongapo City, Mayor James Gordon Jr. asked the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to assess whether the landslide
prone areas in the city are still fit for habitation following a slide that killed two persons in Barangay Sta. Rita on
Tuesday.
Gordon said he wanted the MGB to assess Mt. Balimpuyo in Sta. Rita where the landslide killed Ederlyn Macapal, 54,
and her daughter, Manilyn, 12, so the city could take the next step to protect residents and their property.
We will know if we have to order a forced evacuation in the area. Our last inspection there showed that there may be
[other boulders] that could roll down the hill if there is a storm, continuous rain or an earthquake, he said.
Sta. Rita village chair Jerome Bacay said the landslide was triggered by continuous rains in the city on Monday and
Tuesday. Mother and daughter were found a few meters from their house. Five other people were hurt and taken to the
James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital in Olongapo.
Gordon said the assessment of the city engineer showed that Mt. Balimpuyo is a danger zone. But we need the MGB
to validate that so we could order a forced evacuation of the affected residents, he said.
Gordon said he asked the MGB to study the landslide-prone areas in the villages of Alaklan, Sta. Rita, Mabayuan,
Gordon Heights and East Bajac-Bajac.
Students, teachers complain of Baguio's trash problem
By Artemio Dumlao (philstar.com) | Updated June 18, 2013 - 8:13pm

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines The ugly head of Baguios garbage problem sticks out anew with more than 300 students,
faculty members and non-teaching staff of the Philippine Science High School CAR campus in Irisan barangay
complaining they are virtually within an open dump site.
Even you cannot endure the stench, Conrado Rotor Jr., Phil. Science High School director described the air around
the newly built four-storey, 16-classroom building of the government-run secondary school servicing intellectuallygifted and talented Filipino children in the Cordillera and the rest of Northern Luzon.
In several times of the day, when classes are on-going, truckloads upon truckloads of garbage are dumped less than
30 meters from the school.
"Buti kung everyday, inaalis nila, pero hindi. Rotor said, while reminding that the virtually open dumpsite was
supposedly a staging area only of Baguios garbage before it is brought to Capas, Tarlac.
A solution is in the pipeline, said Engr. Romeo Concio of the General Services Office of the city, adding that a
chemical will be used to douse off the nauseating stench.
But imagine an open dump site right beside a school?, the school official said as he cites the school hosts 330
students from all over Cordillera and the rest of Northern Luzon, 31 faculty members and 14 non-academic personnel.
The virtual open dump site, which the city government has been using as transfer facility, still sits along the 3.7
hectare land appropriated by the government.
We already moved our classes opening from June 10 to June 17 to accommodate some adjustments like that of the
foul smell that can affect the students and everyone, Rotor said.
A series of meetings between Phil Science High School officials and Maypr Mauricio Domogan were held.
Benguet villagers had sued Baguio via a Writ of Kalikasan after six were killed in a mammoth trash slide at the Irisan
dumpsite in August 2011.
Domogan has continuously vowed to find a solution to the garbage problem. The city, however, has yet to find a
suitable area to build a sanitary landfill.
Measures, according to the city government, have been instituted before the classes started. This includes a cement
barrier to prevent garbage employees from reaching the school.
Baguio churns out a minimum of 200 tons of garbage a day.

A garbage crisis looms in Baguio City?

By Artemio Dumlao | Updated September 3, 2011 - 12:00am

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines Is a garbage crisis looming in this city?
This question cropped up after Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan ordered the Irisan dump shut down following the
trash slide at the height of super typhoon Mina that buried five villagers alive.
Lawyer Carlos Canilao, city administrator, said flak received by the local government from different sectors, including
the environment department, prompted Domogan to close down the collapsed dump.
Canilao admitted that the Irisan dump had been operating illegally since Republic Act 9003 took effect in 2001.
He said Baguios garbage will be brought to the lowlands after Urdaneta City in Pangasinan rejected the dumping of
tons of trash in its sanitary landfill.
Three drivers were detained in Urdaneta City after they were caught unloading several trucks of garbage from Baguio
City without the consent of Mayor Gregory Perez IV.
Rey Quinto, caretaker of the modern engineered sanitary landfill in Urdaneta City, told The STAR that they had stopped
accommodating Baguios trash since Monday.
He said Perez earlier granted Domogans request to dump trash from the Irisan dump to the citys landfill for
humanitarian reasons.
On Thursday, Quinto said at least eight trucks of garbage from Baguio were brought to the Urdaneta landfill without
their approval though.
Perez tightened security at the sanitary landfill after the three drivers were allegedly caught dumping truckloads of
garbage without clearance.
Police will file charges against the arrested drivers.
The town of Malasiqui, also in Pangasinan, earlier said it would not allow Baguio City to dispose off its garbage in its
16-hectare controlled dump.
With this development, the city government has to look for towns willing to accommodate its hundreds of tons of
garbage.
The impending garbage problem in the city came at the heels of Baguios 102nd Charter Day rites on Thursday.
Although the stretch of Asin Road in Tuba town, Benguet where the avalanche occurred had already been cleared,
Baguios garbage woes are far from over.
Presidential Adviser on Environment Neric Acosta said the incident should be looked into.
Lawyer Jose Molintas, a scion of an old Baguio Ibaloi clan and a United Nations expert on indigenous peoples
mechanisms, said environment officials who allowed the use of the open dump should be held liable for its collapse.

The city government disclosed it has acquired P180 million worth of Japan-made machines that can recycle
biodegradable materials into fertilizer.
With Eva Visperas

Court shuts down Baguios Irisan dump, site of fatal trash slide
Published August 26, 2012 8:57pm
The Court of Appeals has ordered the Baguio City government to permanently close its Irisan dumpsite following a
catastrophic trash slide that claimed the lives of five people last year.

In a 13-page ruling penned by Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario, the CAs Former Special Sixth Division approved the
joint motion for rendition of a consent decree submitted by petitioner Benguet Rep. Ronald Cosalan and other
concerned residents and by respondents Mayor Mauricio Domogan and the city council led by Vice Mayor Daniel
Farias.

Other respondents named in the suit are the City Solid Waste Management Board, which is also chaired by Domogan;
the City Environment and Parks Management Office, represented by Cordelia Lacsamana; and the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources.

Signed by both parties, the decree formally informs the CA that they have agreed to settle the case amicably, with the
respondents not opposing the writ of kalikasan issued by the Supreme Court in January.

The temporary protection order issued by the SC is now deemed annulled, with a writ of continuing mandamus issued
by the CA in its stead.

A writ of mandamus is an order issued by a higher court compelling a lower court to perform a certain duty that is
deemed by the higher court to be mandatory.

In the writ, the Court said that it found the terms and conditions embodied in the amicable settlement in accordance
with law, morals, public order and public policy and in order to protect the right of the people to a balance and
healthful ecology.

The CA directed the Baguio City government to permanently cease operation of the dumpsite, and local officials to
comply with the local governments announced plan to convert the dumpsite into an eco-park.

That the City of Baguio, its officials, and all those who may hereafter succeed them shall abide by the local

government's declaration of closure of the facility and thereafter, implement and establish at the soonest possible
time, a waste disposal system at a remote location which shall not be where the closed Irisan facility is situated... and,
in the interim, adopt all measures that shall ensure a clean, sanitary and safe environment to the resident of the areas
affected and its environs," the CA ruled.

The city government was also ordered to report on the progress of its compliance with the decree within six months,
and for every six months afterwards until the courts judgment is fully implemented.

The DENR and other concerned government entities were also ordered to monitor the respondents compliance with
the consent decree, and to submit a report within three months.

Associate Justices Rosmari Carandang and Japar Dimaampao concurred with the ruling.

The fatal Irisan trash slide occurred in August 2011, when Typhoon Mina (international name: Nanmadol) flooded the
dumpsite and caused a retaining wall to collapse, sending an avalanche of trash down on the community below.

The trash also reached the nearby Kagaling River, contaminating waterway systems in neighboring provinces. BM,
GMA News
- See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/271294/news/regions/court-shuts-down-baguio-s-irisan-dumpsite-of-fatal-trash-slide#sthash.q6FjgNUc.dpuf

In Cosalan, et al v. City of Baguio, et al., 9 petitioner therein sought the closure of a dumpsite following the death of six
(6) people, including three (3) children, when a trashslide buried them alive under a mountain of trash. After hearing
with the Court of Appeals, the parties and the local government agreed to settle the case amicably and later entered
into a Consent Decree, wherein the local government undertook, among other things, to permanently close the
dumpsite and convert the area to an environment-friendly Eco-Park. A writ of Kalikasan was thus granted and a writ of
Continuing Mandamus was issued ordering the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to strictly
monitor compliance of all concerned to the said decree.

TRASH SLIDE SHOULD BE A WAKEUP CALL FOR RA 9003 IMPLEMENTATION- SEN. LEGARDA
By:
REDJIE MELVIC CAWIS / PIA
Posted: 11-Sep-2011 / 4 years 29 weeks ago
BAGUIO CITY,(PIA)- - Senator Loren Legarda said that the Irisan trash slide incident should be a wakeup call for the
strict implementation of the Republic Act 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 .
Legarda who was here in Baguio City last week for the two-days Luzon Indigenous Peoples Assembly at the Teacher's
Camp visited the affected area of the trash slide in Kilometer 5, Asin Road in Tuba, Benguet.
"The Irisan trashslide in Baguio should be a wakeup call to local governments to implement the law at full speed
especially now that we are facing threats of extreme weather events that can trigger such environmental disasters,"
said Legarda.
The Senator, who is the Chairperson, Committee on Climate Change, urged the city government of Baguio and local
government units to convert their open dumpsites into controlled dumpsites in accordance with the guidelines set in
the RA.
According to the law, an open dump refers to a disposal area wherein the solid wastes are indiscriminately thrown or
disposed of without due planning and consideration for environmental and health standards. A controlled dumpsite, on
the other hand, refers to a disposal site at which solid waste is deposited in accordance with the minimum prescribed
standards of site operation.
Legarda also emphasized that aside from the fact that open and controlled dumpsites should have been long closed by
now, the Irisan site was also found to be highly susceptible to landslides as indicated in the geohazard maps
distributed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the local government units.
At least six people perished in the Irisan trash slide including three siblings who are minors.

The Senator said that this incident reminds of the Payatas tragedy which happened in the 2000 killing over 300
people and left hundreds more homeless when a mountain of trash buried a community, which revealed that the way
we manage our garbage not only impacts on our environment and health but can also endanger lives.
According to the website of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), there are still 790 open and
382 controlled dumpsites in operation nationwide.
Only the municipality of La Trinidad in Benguet has a fully operational Engineered Sanitary Landfill in the whole of the
Cordillera Region. *(RC-PIA CAR)

Irisan Dumpsite: The Inconsistencies of the Governments Plans and Actions

March 12, 2012journalism106Leave a commentGo to comments
by Francis Blaise Acorda, Jon Viktor Cabuenas, Carly Ymer Lemence
Rebecca Martin is a working woman in Purok 17, Irisan, Baguio City. She works as a garbage picker in the new Irisan
dumpsite and she has already been working for 15 years. As the old dumpsite is now closed, Rebecca now works in the
staging area to continue her work. Unlike others who take trash for granted, she earns her living from trash.
Rebecca, together with other family members, goes to the dumpsite as early as 5 oclock in the morning every day.
With the use of long sticks, they search within the trash for plastics and other biodegradable materials. They segregate
everything they can find bottles, plastics, wrappers, etc. At the end of the day, at around 7 oclock in the evening,
they sell everything they get to the nearest junk shops. They earn around 100 Php per day.
Although the Irisan dumpsite was permanently closed since the trash slide last August 27, 2011, Rebecca and her coworkers still feel glad about having a staging area in Purok 17, Irisan. According to her, this is the only place where
they can work and the only place where they can earn money for a living.
Rebecca and her family are not the only ones who live near the Irisan dumpsite but they lucky, having not been
affected by the trash slide. According to her, she has friends whose houses were buried in trash but the government
helped them and gave them housing in Pacdal, Baguio City.
As a consistent observer in the Irisan dumpsite and the new staging area, Rebecca is aware of the everyday cycle of
the garbage in Baguio City.
The Irisan Dumpsite then and after the trashslide
The Irisan dumpsite has already been the area for Baguio Citys garbage since 1972. Prior to being a dumpsite, the
area used to be owned by the Smith clan, an American family. It was then passed on to a local family from Baguio, the
Caguioa family who finally decided to give the land to the city.
Before the implementation of the Republic Act 9003 in the year 2000, the segregation of the biodegradable and nonbiodegradable wastes was not strictly implemented, leaving an assortment of both biodegradable and nonbiodegradable waste materials in the dumpsite.

After the trash slide that affected families from the residential areas along Irisan and Asin Road, Baguio City, Irisan
Barangay Captain Thomas Dumalti says that as far as he knows, the city government of Baguio is liable for 20,000.00
Php for every death incurred in the incident and another 20,000.00 Php for every household affected. As help, the
barangay solicited funds and relief goods to the affected families.
Kagawad Philip Tanawe of Barangay Irisan said that the affected families, including those whose houses were buried by
trash, were not given relocation homes by the government. Tanawe added that some families resettled to their
relatives living along Baguio while others stayed as they had no other place to go. According to Ruben A. Cervantes,
Public Services Officer IV of City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO), they are not responsible for
giving these families resettlement homes as these families are informal settlers.
Ceferino Nariz, an Irisan resident, said he and his family have been staying in the area since 1982. He said that they
have no plans of leaving their home as it is where they earn their living. When it comes to issues and concerns, Nariz
said that they do not have any problems, even if they live just beside the dumpsite. His only wish is for the garbage to
be permanently removed for the governments plans of rehabilitating the dumpsite to push through.
Is the dumpsite permanently closed?
The dumpsite was only permanently closed on January 28, 2012 after the Supreme Court released an order for the
area to be permanently closed. Although there are rumors that the dumpsite is not really closed, the residents along
the dumpsite, the garbage pickers, and Ruben Cervantes of CEPMO denied this. Cervantes added that the old
dumpsite is where the recycling machines are located. Biodegradable materials collected from the city are brought
there to be grinded and converted into fertilizers.
Today, part of the Irisan dumpsite is now covered by soil and according to Kagawad Tanawe, in time the whole site will
be covered with soil, serving as the first step in rehabilitating the dumpsite.
As the dumpsite is now permanently closed, the city government eyes total restoration of the land. By the process of
retrofiling, all the trash left in the site will be covered up by soil. Development started last January 28 and as of now,
the topmost part of the area is now completely covered.
Since the site is not evenly levelled, parts of the area will be terraced as to avoid landslides. Regreening of the area
will also be imposed as the site is set to be made into an eco-park.
Ruben Cervantes of CEPMO denied rumors that the money for the rehabilitation of the dumpsite was given to the
victim of Sendong in Mindanao. He said that the financial donation said to have been giving to these victims, is from
the contingency funds of the city.
Kagawad Tanawe said that the dumpsite has minimal possibility of erosion as it is no longer in a slope.
Implementation of R.A.9003 and the New Staging Area
Although the Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Waste Management Act was implemented as early as the year 2000
during the term of Mayor Braulio Yaranon, people in Baguio City did not practice this. The No Segregation, No
Collection Policy was only implemented after the Irisan trash slide. Since then, garbage from different houses and
barangays are to be segregated. If not, these are not to be collected
Republic Act 9003, otherwise known as the Philippine Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, states that it
is the policy of the State to adopt a systematic, comprehensive and ecological solid waste management. Residents
are to segregate trash between biodegradable and non-biodegradable materials.
As the Irisan dumpsite is now permanently closed, the government opened a new staging area for the citys garbage.
This staging area is located in Purok 17 of Barangay Irisan.

Ruben Cervantes of CEPMO said that the citys garbage is supposed to be dumped in the staging area for only 24
hours then transported to Tarlac but according to Kagawad Tanawe, the garbage stays in the staging area for about
two to three days before being transported. Tanawe also doubts that the recycling machines are being used by the city
government because according to him, the machine cannot process all the biodegradables in converting it into
compost materials. According to Cervantes, these machines are still being used.
Irisan Barangay Captain Thomas Dumalti said that for the garbage to be transported to Tarlac, it must first be
transferred to larger trucks as the smaller trucks are not practical, being unable to transport large volumes of trash.
Dumalti also believes that there is another staging area in Barangay Sanitary Camp but Kagawad Tanawe has
contradicting information as he said that the Sanitary Camp is already clean and it only served as a staging area way
before the Irisan dumpsite. Cervantes confirmed that Sanitary Camp is no longer a staging area and it now serves as a
residential area.
Now that the citys garbage is currently being dumped in the staging area, residents along the site have different
opinions and views.
Feliza Uyam, a resident living near the staging area said that she sometimes works in the site. According to her, the
staging area is open for everyone who wants to work there as a garbage picker, as there is no contract. She said that
most of the people who work there need to earn money to buy food for their families.
Uyam said that both biodegradables and non-biodegradables are thrown in the staging area. Some of the
biodegradables are brought to the closed Irisan dumpsite where the recycling machines are located, some given and
found by the garbage pickers for them to sell, and the remaining biodegradables are collected by the large trucks to be
brought to Tarlac.
With the staging area just a few steps away from her home, Feliza said that she is fine with the staging area being
close to her home as it gives her and her neighbours a place to earn money to be able to help their families.
A store owner whose store is also a few steps from the staging area said that according to the government, the site will
only be used as a staging area for six months but up until now, the staging area is still operating for even more than
six months, allegedly, while some of the residents in the nearby area do not have any idea what the government will
do with the area and how it is going to operate.
Land used for the staging area: Owned by the BCNHS
The land used for the staging area in Irisan where the garbage is currently being held, was originally owned by the city
government but the land was later given to Baguio City National High School. When the news broke that the city
government was using the land of BCNHS as a staging area, Dr. Elma D. Donaal, BCNHS Principal IV, immediately
called the attention of CEPMO. Donaal learned the news from media who asked her to comment regarding the matter.
Although the land had already been given to BCNHS, the government did not inform Donaal about the plan of making
the land as a staging area for the citys trash. Although a bit taken aback on the matter, Donaal agreed to the plan of
the government and thought that it was a way to help the city.
The staging area is the proposed site where BCNHS and the Philippine Science High School plan to construct buildings
for the expansion of their schools. As funds are not yet available for BCNHS, they have leased less than 50% of the
land to the Philippine Science High School which is set to construct their school building as soon as possible. As of now,
Principal Donaal agreed with CEPMO for the city to temporarily use their land as a staging area. I am not complaining
because its for the good of the city, she said.
Donaal explained that the city hall is not to be blamed because it is not only the governments garbage but it is also
the garbage of the citizens of Baguio.
The No Segregation, No Collection Policy is now being strictly implemented in the city. Every day, 15 garbage trucks
collect the trash once a day in the residential areas and thrice a day in the central business district of Baguio.

Rehabilitation of the Dumpsite

If the rehabilitation of the Irisan dumpsite and the planned eco-park pushes through, Barangay captain Dumalti wishes
that the government prioritize the residents along the area, giving them jobs, as the government has now plans to
make them leave the area.