Marilyn Cahatol

Article (news)

Annie Perez

ABS-CBN News

<p>CEBU — Jaylord Antigua has been a billing assistant at the Binaliw Landfill since 2018, a job close to home he didn’t expect to secure.</p><p>The primary duty is to bill the garbage trucks per ton brought into the landfill. Everything went well, except when he noticed that the mountain of trash had become taller.</p><p>“We were always concerned, we met. We’d ask, how is our trash there, is it safe? We are working here. They’d reply, it’s safe. We trusted because we don’t have that much knowledge about it but when you view it you would really see that it was already very high. At some point, it would really collapse,” said Antigua.</p><p>And it did — on January 8,  <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/1/17/binaliw-landslide-death-toll-now-at-35-1-still-missing-1550">killing more than 30 individuals</a> who were trapped underneath. The tragedy happened in less than a minute, as survivors recall. </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1781314049424Binaliw-Landfill.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Rescue teams race to retrieve bodies beneath the pile of trash at the Binaliw Landfill. <em>Annie Perez, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>“I peeked through the door and saw that the roof of the building collapsed. I was not able to speak. I immediately tried to duck under a table but my hands were already stuck...then I passed out,” shared Suzitte Balase who works as a payroll manager and survived the incident.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1781309301563Screen Shot 2026-06-11 at 8.43.58 AM.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Binaliw landfill worker Suzitte Balase demonstrates her position when she was trapped during the waste collapse. <em>Annie Perez, ABS-CBN News </em></span></span></span></div><p>The Mines and Geosciences Bureau made the initial investigation on the incident and found “oversaturation of landfill due to periodic rainfall over the past weeks influenced by the prevailing shear line and easterlies over the region.” </p><p>Experts also saw that the trash mountain reached 35 meters — as tall as a 12-storey building. The landfill was immediately ordered closed after the incident.</p><p>What happened in Binaliw was not an isolated incident. Just six weeks later,<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/2/23/1-dead-2-still-missing-in-rizal-landfill-collapse-mayor-1144"> a landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal also collapsed</a> in similar conditions, killing one person and triggering another government investigation. </p><p>The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) also noted operational and compliance issues but nothing on climate risk assessments as part of the big picture despite repeated heavy rainfall patterns. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/2/25/denr-calabarzon-halts-rizal-landfill-operations-after-deadly-trash-slide-0704">DENR-Calabarzon halts Rizal landfill operations after deadly trash slide</a></div><p>The findings, however, mentioned erosion of the active tipping area, foul odor from exposed waste, and a visible crack in the adjacent bench waste. </p><p>DENR said the Philippines has 343 sanitary landfills serving 748 local government units, but existing landfill standards remain in question under fast changing climate conditions.</p><p>Satellite images showed the rapid increase of garbage up until present in Binaliw. </p><p>The first recorded image in 2019 logged the height of the landfill at 124 meters from sea level. It rose to 166 meters in two years and had grown to 214 meters in the latest image. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/6/7/the-lingering-risks-that-landfills-leave-long-after-shutdown-0938">The lingering risks that landfills leave long after shutdown<br/></a></div><p>The total land area used in 2025 was estimated to be close to 40,000 square meters when its first ECC approved only 17,000 square meters to be used.</p><p>At present, the latest image shows about 70,000 square meters utilized for waste.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/27/denr-supports-amendments-to-ra-9003-cites-need-for-better-enforcement-1907">DENR backs changes to solid waste law to allow incineration</a></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1781314395853Binaliw-Landfill2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">2019 and 2026 photo comparison of the Binaliw Landfill. <em>Google Satellite Images</em></span></span></span></div><div><strong>UNUSUAL WEATHER PATTERNS IN CEBU</strong></div><p>State weather bureau PAGASA confirmed that Metro Cebu, among other areas in the Philippines, is going through new weather patterns that were not seen before.</p><p>“We noticed that when there is a storm, there are really strong rains in different areas which we can call extreme weather events. There are also heavy rains that are not just brought by the storms but also from different weather systems,” said Jhomer Eclarino, chief of the forecasting division of PAGASA Mactan.</p><p>They recorded 2,152.7 milimeters of rainfall for the whole year of 2025, which is equivalent to 861 Olympic-sized swimming pools.</p><p>This is almost twice as much as the normal rainfall of 1,299.8 milimeters.  The La Niña condition also contributed to the rain which was terminated in the first quarter of 2026.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17813094582232b17bb08-1c57-40bb-ab8a-ece8f35abf90.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"> Visualization of normal rainfall versus actual rainfall in 2025. <em>PAGASA Mactan </em></span></span></span></div><p>“Even if there is no storm, we will experience heavy and at times, torrential rainfall. This is brought by other systems such as low pressure areas, intertropical convergence zones and some localized thunderstorms,” added Eclarino.</p><p>Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, who also chairs the council&#x27;s Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, Energy, and Other Utilities, described what happened — that the landfill was acting as a “sponge” after months of heavy rains in the city.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/1/11/cebu-city-landfill-survivor-recounts-traumatizing-ordeal-1820">Cebu City landfill survivor recounts &#x27;traumatizing&#x27; ordeal</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>LANDFILL’S LEGAL OBLIGATIONS</strong></div><p>In the case of the Binaliw landfill, it started in January 2017 where the president of then ARN Builders Inc. requested for scoping for a sanitary landfill and power generation facility project. </p><p>Two months later, the council of Barangay Binaliw passed a resolution approving the operation of a Materials Recovery Facility — meant for separating solid waste and recyclables — only.</p><p>On March 24, 2017, Garganera discovered quarrying and hauling operations in the vicinity which prompted the Environmental Management Bureau to issue a cease and desist order three days after. </p><p>“We found out there was a lot of earth movement,” said Garganera. </p><p>In May of the same year, ARN builders was issued a first notice of violation by the zoning board for violating the zoning ordinance of the city. </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1781309553222Screen Shot 2026-06-11 at 3.32.42 PM.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The Cebu city zoning board issued its notice of violation to the landfill on July 2017.<em> Contributed </em></span></span></span></div><p>It took six months for the company to resolve the issues. It was granted an Environmental Compliance Certificate in November and was opened the following year. </p><p>It mandated a zero-waste management scheme where recyclable waste would be processed in a Materials Recovery Facility and the rest would be dumped into a composting facility. </p><p>Five years later, the ownership of the landfill was transferred to Primewaste Solutions Inc. </p><p>DENR confirmed that the company complied with its Engineering Geological and Geohazard Assessment Report (EGGAR) as part of its requirements to its Environmental Impact Assessment using normal rainfall data from the state weather bureau.</p><p>DENR immediately formed a technical committee to investigate the incident but until now, there are no results.</p><p>“Ongoing investigation pa itong mga matters na nasa Central office, we are also waiting,” said Atty. John Edward Ang, Regional Director of EMB 7, in a statement.</p><p>The landfill partially reopened after EMB granted the company an amended ECC covering the new area where the trash will be dumped, about 200 meters away from the site of the tragedy. It is 2,700 square meters that could accommodate up to 20,000 tons. </p><p>It also mandated that the company, which refused to give a comment on the development, should submit detailed engineering plans, projected lifespan, assessment of the leachage management system and an emergency response and contingency plan.</p><p>Ang said it was his decision to reopen it based on “balanced environmental safeguards with practical necessity.” </p><p>HE added: “Cebu has an urgent need for a functional waste disposal facility to handle the city’s waste, and our decision followed a careful evaluation of the company’s compliance measures.” </p><p>EMB explained that they do not require a climate risk assessment for amended ECCs. </p><p>“The minimum for the Environmental Impact Statement is the EGGAR, then drainage impact,” said Engineer Cindy Pepito, EMB  7’s spokesperson, noting that the landfill company also complied with.</p><p>DENR already conducted a review of all waste disposal facilities in the country and required operators to submit their contingency plans to address fire incidents, slope failure, leachate overflow and possible gas explosions. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>STATE OF WASTE EMERGENCY</strong></div><p>At present, Cebu City is still grappling with a “state of waste emergency” as it generates over a hundred tons per day. There is an impending issue as to the usage of the South Road Properties as a transfer station before the trash is hauled to the town of Aloguinsan. </p><p>Just recently, the city launched an eco-station where waste would be transformed into fertilizer, animal feed and recyclable materials reducing up to 15 tons of waste per day. “You should understand that the city government is doing its best,” said Mayor Nestor Archival.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1781309604065719610064_1039019055353591_2462950036287395919_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"> A shredder is an equipment at Cebu City’s ecostation to reuse single-use plastics. <em>Cebu City PIO </em></span></span></span></div><p>Environmental Group Greenpeace Philippines has lobbied for data-driven solutions to address the crisis of the city. Marian Ledesma, zero-waste campaigner said the city could have mitigated the incident through doing a waste audit or waste analysis. They also did not see a clear solid waste management plan.</p><p>Whatever solutions the city and the national government are implementing, workers like Antigua and Balase simply want the landfill operations to be better.</p><p>“We hope that everything will be okay and it will not happen again that we lost a lot of our friends,” shared Balase. “They should make it more strict and change the style. Not just dump and dump,” added Antigua.</p><div><br/></div><div><em>This story was supported by the Earth Journalism Network through its Extreme Weather in the Philippines Investigative Reporting Fellowship.</em></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9M96X82qpd8?si=3wifsRWX2ljpRjJK" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" spellcheck="false"></iframe></div>

<p>DENR said the Philippines has 343 sanitary landfills serving 748 local government units, but existing landfill standards remain in question under fast changing climate conditions.</p>

DENR said the Philippines has 343 sanitary landfills serving 748 local government units, but existing landfill standards remain in question under fast changing climate conditions.

The climate risk beneath Cebu’s garbage

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The climate risk beneath Cebu’s garbage

Annie Perez,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 13, 2026 09:33 AM PHT

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Binaliw Landfill

Disaster

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