City dad seeks probe on garbage pile-up at SRP

Local

A CEBU City councilor is seeking a formal investigation into the renewed accumulation of garbage at Pond A in the South Road Properties (SRP).

Councilor Pastor “Jun” Alcover warned that the temporary transfer station has effectively become an open dumpsite again despite earlier assurances that the area had already been cleared.

He filed a proposed resolution before the Cebu City Council requesting the council’s Committee on Environment to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, into the reported reaccumulation of waste at the SRP site.

The resolution cited reports published on May 13 and the councilor’s own inspection showing that large volumes of mixed garbage had once again piled up at Pond A, an area previously intended only as a temporary transfer station where waste would remain for no longer than 24 hours before being hauled to Aloguinsan for final disposal.

“Reports and actual inspection conducted by the undersigned revealed that garbage continues to pile up at the site for prolonged periods, effectively transforming the transfer station into an open dumpsite,” the resolution stated.

The measure comes less than two months after Mayor Nestor Archival announced in March that Pond A had been “successfully cleared” of trash in compliance with directives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

But fresh drone footage and recent inspections showed massive heaps of garbage again covering portions of the area, with waste reportedly spilling toward nearby mangrove zones.

Alcover’s resolution raised alarm over reports that garbage piles have already encroached into mangrove areas near the SRP coastline, potentially threatening wildlife habitats and coastal ecosystems.

The councilor also questioned whether continued dumping operations at SRP violated earlier DENR directives ordering Cebu City to stop using the area for waste disposal.

The proposed investigation seeks to determine whether private haulers, barangays, contractors, and city departments are complying with waste disposal protocols and environmental regulations.

It also aims to review the city’s garbage hauling operations and assess measures needed to prevent further environmental degradation and ensure transparency in waste management contracts.

The worsening garbage problem at SRP emerged following the January 2026 collapse of the Binaliw Sanitary Landfill, which killed 36 workers and one rescuer and injured several others.

After the tragedy, Cebu City began using Pond A as a temporary staging area while waste was transported to the municipality of Aloguinsan.

However, the arrangement significantly increased disposal costs.

The resolution noted that Cebu City now spends around P3,906 per ton to haul garbage to Aloguinsan, compared to the previous P1,100 per ton disposal cost at Binaliw.

With the city generating an estimated 600 to 700 tons of waste daily, officials earlier projected annual disposal expenses could reach between P1.2 billion and P2 billion.

Despite the approval of P400 million under Supplemental Budget No. 1 and an existing P517 million allocation for solid waste management, the city still faces a projected funding shortfall, while no permanent disposal facility has yet been identified.

Alcover’s resolution further seeks recommendations for sustainable long-term waste management solutions as Cebu City grapples with mounting environmental and financial pressures linked to its garbage crisis.

The proposed measure also authorizes the furnishing of copies of the resolution to the Office of the Mayor, the Department of Public Services, the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office, the Committee on Environment, and Pinoy Basurero Corporation for appropriate action and compliance.(TGP)