DAVAO CITY—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Friday said it is considering the suspension of a sanitary landfill in Barangay New Carmen here, which collapsed on Wednesday, burying one person, injuring two, and leaving two others missing.
In a statement, the DENR called on the city government to “accelerate stabilization measures at the site,” where a mountain of trash slid past 1 p.m. on Wednesday following days of rain that also submerged parts of the downtown area.
As of Friday, search and rescue teams from the Bureau of Fire Protection, 911 Urban Search and Rescue, the City Engineer’s Office (CEO), and barangay responders were deployed, but their efforts were hampered by unstable ground conditions.
The CEO’s declaration of the area as “unsafe for full entry” prompted a temporary suspension of waste disposal operations at the landfill. It has also sent technical teams to assess the extent of the waste movement to guide remediation measures for the facility.
According to the DENR, the landfill has been under close monitoring by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in the Davao region since January.
In March this year, a notice of violation was issued against the facility “for operating without a discharge permit, failing effluent standards, and maintaining an inadequate leachate treatment system,” the DENR said.
Last month, the city government committed to drafting a pollution control program for the landfill.
The DENR said earlier inspections “documented steep slopes, a collapsed leachate pond, and the presence of informal waste pickers and makeshift dwellings near the landfill perimeter.”
“These findings formed the basis of DENR recommendations for slope stabilization, partial closure of certain sections, and relocation of households within the 200-meter buffer zone,” the agency said.
Corrective measures
Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the trash slide underscores the urgency of completing corrective measures.
“Every life lost is unacceptable. The DENR and the local government have been working together on the technical and regulatory requirements for months. This incident reinforces the need to accelerate slope stabilization and the safe closure plan,” he said.
An average of 786 tons of waste is dumped into the landfill daily, and the sheer volume has brought it close to full capacity. A new landfill site being developed nearby is still halfway completed.
Cuna said that once suspended, operations at the landfill will not resume until the site is declared safe.
“This is a moment for collaboration. We are committed to ensuring that Davao City’s waste facilities are safe, compliant and resilient,” he said.
According to Barangay New Carmen chief Jerry Ceballos, residents living near the landfill had long been urged to relocate due to the rising danger posed by the accumulating trash.
A city government report said 15 houses were destroyed, mostly buried under the debris, while 11 others were damaged. Several motorcycles were also buried.
Ceballos said more than a hundred families, or at least 500 individuals, have been evacuated to gymnasiums in the village and the health center.
The Office of the Vice President has mobilized a food truck to provide meals for evacuees and rescuers, who continue to slowly dig through the collapsed garbage mound in hopes of finding two missing elderly women.
