CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — A waste and climate justice forum held at Palm Grass Heritage Hotel gathered environmental advocates, engineers, and community representatives to discuss the Binaliw tragedy and broader state of waste management in Cebu City.
Hosted by hotel owner Agripina Guivelondo, the forum featured Lito Vasquez of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, lawyer and waste management advocate Aliko Garganera, and Dr. Ian Dominic Tabañag, assistant professor and senior specialist in chemical engineering at the University of San Carlos.
Two decades of noncompliance
Vasquez attributed Cebu’s current garbage problem to what he describes as “two decades of noncompliance with National Government standards and shortcuts on the part of the Cebu City Government.”
He said the crisis reflects systemic issues across local government units, pointing to heavy dependence on landfills, while generating more waste than can be sustainably managed.
Citing audit findings, Vasquez noted the lack of material recovery facilities (MRFs), composting systems, adequate recycling, and proper waste management infrastructure. He also emphasized the role of consumer systems that offer little sustainable choice, with most affordable goods packaged in plastic and single-use sachets.
”What happened in Inayawan was simply repeated in Binaliw,” Vasquez said, referring to the city’s former landfill. “We simply shifted from Inayawan to Binaliw.”
He added that placing major disposal sites in marginalized communities deepens existing social inequities.
From landfill to dumpsite
Garganera clarified the technical distinction between an open dumpsite and a sanitary landfill. An open dumpsite, she explained, lacks engineering controls, environmental safeguards, and treatment systems. A sanitary landfill, on the other hand, is designed with protective linings, leachate management, and structural monitoring.
According to Garganera and Tabañag, the Binaliw facility was originally intended to operate as a sanitary landfill but gradually failed to meet required standards.
”The tragedy was not unforeseen,” Garganera said, noting that complaints and structural issues had been observed for years.
“Binaliw was intended to be a landfill but has operated beyond its design capacity and is thus doomed to fail,” Tabañag said.
Natural disasters, including the recent earthquake and typhoons, further aggravated preexisting vulnerabilities.
Binaliw residents oppose wte project
Former Binaliw barangay councilor Daisy Tudtud Ybañez shared residents’ sentiments concerning the proposed waste-to-energy (WTE) project to be constructed in Binaliw.
A petition with over 500 signatures opposed the proposed construction of the WTE facility in the area. ”Binaliw has already suffered more than enough,” the petition reads.
Residents are calling for closure and accountability rather than expansion, citing concerns over toxic pollutants and potential health risks.
The speakers collectively urged stricter compliance with national waste management laws, investment in reduction and recycling systems, and greater accountability in local governance to prevent further environmental and community harm.
| Written by Elizabeth Salarde, UP-Cebu intern/RAE
