CEBU, PHILIPPINES — Less than two months after Mayor Nestor Archival declared Pond A at the South Road Properties (SRP) free of garbage, mounds of mixed waste have again surfaced, renewing concerns over Cebu City’s waste management system.
In March, Archival announced that the SRP’s Pond A had been “successfully cleared” of trash, meeting his self-imposed March 15 deadline.
At the time, the cleanup was said to comply with directives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and aimed to restore order at the temporary transfer station.
Since then, several photos showing garbage accumulation at SRP circulated online, although many dismissed them as old file images allegedly used to discredit the mayor.
Residents and visitors, however, continued to complain of foul odors in the area, attributing them to nighttime garbage deliveries from barangays as the city continued using SRP as a temporary transfer station.
Last Monday, Councilor Jun Alcover personally inspected the site after receiving fresh reports of renewed dumping activity.
“Duna man guy report akong nadawat…all the while I was thinking na limpyo na kay mao may nakit-an nako pag una, katong sa statement ni mayor nga limpyo na,” Alcover told The Freeman.
To his surprise, garbage had again accumulated and was scattered across several areas. Drone footage published yesterday confirmed his observations. Alcover said the area, which was intended only as a temporary transfer station, has effectively turned into a dumpsite.
“Supposedly, 24 hours ra ta na dha, so after ana wala gyuy mabilin diha kay e-haul na to Aloguinsan. Unsaon man ng nabundo naman pud nag maayo… dili na ni transfer station, dumpsite na gyud,” he stressed.
He also disclosed that garbage slides have already buried nearby mangroves.
“Sigeg bundo, sigeg patong-patong…tubig naman tos luyo, ang mga mangroves naigo. Usa nas wa makit-i,” Alcover added.
The councilor said he would push for an investigation into the worsening situation at SRP.
“Ipa-imbestigar gyud ta na, mao niy akong next move,” he said.
Aside from barangay waste deliveries, waste pickers told Alcover during the inspection that private garbage haulers were also dumping waste at the site even during daytime.
Drone footage taken by The Freeman yesterday reinforced these claims, showing massive piles of garbage and several trucks loaded with waste entering the area in broad daylight.
The SRP transfer station was established after the collapse of the Binaliw landfill in January 2026, which killed 36 workers and a rescuer and injured more than a dozen others, prompting the facility’s closure.
Cebu City also lost access to the Consolacion landfill due to payment issues, leaving SRP as a staging area before garbage could be hauled around 60 kilometers away to Aloguinsan.
While city officials argued that the arrangement prevented waste from piling up in barangays, residents and visitors near Pond A complained of foul odors and environmental risks affecting the area, which serves as a wildlife habitat.
Although Binaliw was shut down following the deadly trash slide, the DENR later partially lifted its cease-and-desist order, allowing Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. (PIWSI) to resume limited operations in a separate landfill cell.
PIWSI has since accepted less than 50 tons of waste daily from private clients such as Ayala and Sta. Lucia. However, Cebu City no longer has a contract with the facility following the closure order.
Archival earlier said the city’s contract with Aloguinsan is based on tonnage rather than duration and admitted that the agreement is expected to expire this month, although he declined to disclose the remaining tonnage allocation.
The city currently pays P3,906 per ton to haul waste to Aloguinsan, significantly higher than the P1,100 per ton previously charged at Binaliw. With the city generating around 600 to 700 tons of waste daily, disposal expenses could balloon to between P1.2 billion and P2 billion annually.
To help address the rising costs, the City Council approved P400 million under Supplemental Budget No. 1 for 2026 specifically for garbage collection and disposal, on top of the P517 million already allocated for solid waste management this year.
Even with the combined allocations, the city still faces a projected billion-peso funding gap.
On May 6, Archival issued Executive Order No. 073, Series of 2026, declaring a state of solid waste management emergency.
The order mandates waste segregation at source, composting, and recycling, while only residual waste will be transported to landfills.
Ten pilot barangays were ordered to strictly comply, and a solid waste management task force was created to oversee implementation.
The DENR has already ordered Cebu City to stop dumping at SRP. Still, amid the environmental concerns, waste pickers welcomed the renewed garbage buildup, saying scavenging recyclable materials at the site provides them with income.
The reemergence of garbage at SRP underscores Cebu City’s worsening waste management crisis — from the collapse of the Binaliw landfill and the soaring costs of long-distance hauling to a temporary transfer station now resembling an open dumpsite.
With the Aloguinsan contract nearing expiration and no permanent disposal facility yet in place, the city faces mounting pressure to balance environmental protection, financial sustainability, and the livelihoods of its poorest residents.
| Written by Caecent No-ot Magsumbol
