President Dean Visits Vice Mayor Estanislao Alviola's Office to Discuss Shoreline Protection, Pyrolysis Technology.

Foundation University President Victor Vicente “Dean” Sinco recently paid a courtesy visit to newly elected Dumaguete City Vice Mayor Estanislao Alviola, a distinguished alumnus of FU who was recognized in 2015 for his professional achievements. Alviola graduated from the School of Industrial Engineering and Technology (SIET) in 1987, later pursuing two years of legal education at the College of Law and Jurisprudence (CLJ). Together in the discussion was former City Councilor Agustin "Tincho" Perdices.

President Sinco presented a set of proposals addressing shoreline protection with particular focus on the reclaimed area in the Rizal Boulevard. His counsel drew upon Foundation University’s long engagement with green architecture and environmental management, pointing to ways the city might reconcile the pressures of urban expansion with the obligation to preserve marine and ecological systems. 

President Dean also aired his concerns for the current pyrolysis technology in the city’s waste management system. At present, there is a pyrolysis machine at the Materials Recovery Facility in Barangay Candau-ay, but it has been indefinitely suspended for lacking the required environmental permits. The machine received further scrutiny after independent studies measured its particulate emissions to concentration levels five to eight times higher than the safety level prescriptions laid down by the World Health Organization.

In a recent report from the Metro-Post, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources charged the facility with seven violations of its Environmental Compliance Certificate, among them:

• the failure to submit Compliance Monitoring Report and Self-Monitoring Report

• failure to secure a Memorandum of Agreement with a DENR-accredited third party treatment-storage-disposal facility

• failure to comply with the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act for dumping of unsegregated waste

• improper housekeeping for operating like a dumpsite due to non-segregation of wastes

• failure to secure a discharge permit for the generated wastewater

• expansion of project activities by constructing a second CRMF without amendment of the ECC

• failure to secure ID registration as a “hazardous waste generator” for busted lamps, etc.

President Sinco has repeatedly pointed out that the current pyrolysis unit in the city is the wrong kind. In a recent press conference, he advanced the idea of purchasing the “right pyrolysis machine” that should be installed in its place, one that would be safer and capable of producing carbon black, biodiesel, or slag depending on the feedstock supplied. This technology is projected to cost about $5 million. President Sinco is optimistic that the system could generate sufficient returns if it is supplied with enough organic waste. With the proper technology, Dumaguete could position itself as a model for integrated waste management, and he has urged both local officials and the private sector to weigh long-term ecological considerations alongside the financial feasibility conditions.