Last week, the Ombudsman, Eduardo Leblanc, went to the Public Ministry headquarters to file a criminal complaint against the company Urbalia Panamá SA, for allegedly committing environmental crimes and crimes against public health.
Leblanc explained further on the subject, indicating that he is awaiting a response from some institutions.
He added that this complaint was initially filed against the person naturally who “we thought was responsible for all this, which was the Cleansing Authority, Mi Ambiente, Sinaproc and the company.”
He pointed out that, over the course of this file, each day he is taking some additional things.
“We were able to notice facts that, according to our understanding, we consider that there is a possible commission of environmental crimes,” he sentenced.
The official said that this action is within the policy of the entity to prosecute those human rights that can be prosecuted, and based on that, they filed the complaint with the Attorney General of the Nation.
“There is another opinion from Mi Ambiente, where it says that the floods and leachate also came through Clayton Village, the Hospital City and probably to Merca Panama, where the products are stored,” Leblanc said.
Urbalia Panamá SA is currently the company in charge of the management and operation of the Cerro Patacón sanitary landfill, and for some time it has been in the eye of the storm due to non-compliance with agreements that have been generating a great environmental impact, assured the Sanitation Authority. , Urban and Home (AAUD) last year.
In July 2021, it was learned that more than one million dollars in fines had been imposed by the AAUD on the company for non-compliance with the environmental impact study, and it installed a technical work table in conjunction with the Minsa, Mi Ambiente, Sinaproc and the Ombudsman’s Office, and at that time, they were preparing a report to terminate the contract or whatever the law allows.
One of Urbalia’s responsibilities is to control and segregate all the garbage that enters the landfill.
The Cerro Patacón landfill covers more than 130 hectares, but the impact of its toxicity reaches about 9 thousand hectares, according to environmental studies. Several barradas in the capital located 3 or 4 kilometers away are affected by odors or fires due to the combustion of waste.
