Cebu City dad seeks long-term waste management measures

Local

CEBU City Councilor Joel Garganera urged Mayor Nestor Archival Sr. to submit within 30 days a transition plan to end the use of the South Road Properties (SRP) as a garbage dumpsite.

The councilor warned that the city risks facing another environmental and public health crisis if long-term waste management measures are not immediately put in place.

Garganera, chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, Energy, and Other Utilities, raised the call during a privilege speech delivered in the regular session of the Cebu City Council on May 26.

The councilor’s appeal came amid continuing concerns over the worsening garbage situation following the fatal trash slide at the Binaliw landfill earlier this year and the growing volume of waste temporarily being piled at the SRP.

“In every tragedy, there must be lessons learned,” Garganera said.

He questioned the lack of transparency surrounding the investigation into the Binaliw incident and the reopening of landfill operations.

The councilor said several critical issues remain unresolved nearly five months after the trash slide, including the absence of a publicly released final investigation report and uncertainty over whether proper risk assessments and due diligence were conducted after the typhoon and earthquake that operators allegedly cited as contributing factors.

“A geotechnical assessment report would easily determine between gross negligence or due diligence,” Garganera said.

He added that the City Council was not informed beforehand that the suspension of landfill operations had already been partially lifted, despite expectations that rehabilitation and accountability measures would first be completed before any reopening.

“So it came as a surprise when, during our April 28 executive session, we were informed that the suspension of the landfill had already been partially lifted and operation had resumed on a limited capacity,” he said.

Garganera also raised concerns over the condition of the landfill’s leachate pond, which he said was reportedly non-operational and instead being siphoned by another private contractor.

“Leachate is one of the most toxic substances that endangers public health, safety, and the environment,” he said.

The councilor likewise questioned conflicting public statements regarding the landfill reopening.

He noted that Archival acknowledged in an April 29 interview that the city had already received an order from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regarding reopening operations, but later denied knowledge or approval of actual operations in a separate statement issued on May 4.

“These differing statements created confusion among the public,” Garganera said.

Despite his criticisms, Garganera commended Archival for later suspending the reopening on May 13 pending further investigation and the creation of a task force to review the situation.

However, he proposed expanding the membership of the Solid Waste Management Task Force to include representatives from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the Office of the Building Official, academic institutions, environmental experts, and civil society groups to ensure that the review process remains “impartial, scientific, evidence-based, and transparent.”

Garganera stressed that Cebu City continues to rely heavily on temporary and small-scale waste management solutions that are insufficient to address the city’s daily garbage output.

“Most of them can only process around 10 to 15 tons of waste,” he said. “But what about the remaining garbage generated by the city every single day?”

He reiterated his long-standing support for waste-to-energy technologies, stronger recycling and segregation programs, and the establishment of more material recovery facilities, but emphasized that the city still lacks a sustainable long-term waste management infrastructure.

“Until we establish a proper facility and long-term infrastructure capable of significantly reducing the volume of garbage ending up in landfills and dumpsites, we cannot honestly say that we are already safe,” Garganera said.

The councilor also cited lessons from a recent visit to Yokohama, Japan, where he said officials learned that even advanced waste management systems required decades of sustained implementation and rehabilitation efforts.

At the close of his speech, Garganera introduced several motions, including a request for the mayor to expand the task force’s mandate to identify alternative collection and transfer sites for Cebu City’s garbage.

An earlier motion seeking to stop the operation of the SRP Pond A as an open dumpsite was later amended during deliberations.

Instead, the council moved to formally express “grave concern” over the continued use of SRP as a dumpsite due to its “legal, health, and environmental implications.”

The amended motion also requested Archival, with the assurance of the vice mayor, to submit a transition plan out of SRP within 30 days.

Garganera said the city should not wait for another disaster before acting decisively on Cebu City’s solid waste problem.

“Transparency builds trust. Transparency prevents speculation. And transparency assures the people of Cebu City that decisions are guided not by convenience, but by safety, accountability, and genuine concern for public welfare,” he said.(TGP)