CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival has again postponed the imposition of fines under the no-segregation-no-collection (NSNC) policy, indefinitely deferring enforcement after the deadly Binaliw landfill slide left the city without a stable disposal site.
The policy, anchored in City Ordinance No. 2031, has long required households to segregate their waste at source, with penalties ranging from ₱1,000 to ₱5,000 fines and legal action.
For years, however, enforcement remained elusive, with past administrations citing logistical gaps and landfill capacity issues.
Archival revived the push at the start of 2026, stressing that stricter rules were needed to curb the city’s garbage problem, which averages 500–600 tons daily.
He initially set February 1 as the start of penalties, following a phased rollout of information drives and warning citations in January.
But the collapse of the Binaliw landfill on January 8, which killed 36 workers and prompted a cease-and-desist order from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, forced the city to reconsider.
Archival then moved the issuance of citations and fines to March. Yet, with March approaching, Cebu City is still scrambling to address all backlog collection and disposal areas.
Garbage is currently being hauled to Aloguinsan, a municipality more than 60 kilometers away, while a temporary transfer station has been set up at the South Road Properties (SRP) to sort refuse before hauling.
Department of Public Services (DPS) head John Paul Gelasque admitted that although the city government is advocating the NSNC policy, both the segregated and unsegregated garbage have been mixed up at the SRP going to Aloguinsan, saying that such a policy has not been perfected yet.
Councilor Joel Garganera, chair of the City Council’s environment committee, earlier warned that without a clear mechanism, the area risks sliding into a dumpsite rather than serving as a proper transfer station, and would cause them some problems concerning environmental violations, among others.
Garganera urged the DPS to act on this right away to avoid any complications.
Archival emphasized that the administration must first stabilize disposal operations before imposing fines.
“This is the thing that we are doing…no segregation, no collection. Pero ang nahitabo man gud, daghang event na niunsa…kon mag sige ta og segregate unya wala lang gihapo’y ta’y mabutangan, so unsa may mahitabo ana? So, we focus on one problem first,” Archival said before leaving for Japan on an official trip.
Despite the deferment, Archival stressed that segregation at source is already being practiced by barangays, helping reduce the volume of garbage collected daily.
Cebu City produces around 600 tons of trash every day, and barangay-level compliance has been crucial in easing the burden while the city struggles with disposal logistics.
Waste reduction also spells savings for the city government, which is now spending double to haul garbage to Aloguinsan.
“For now, we have enough budget to haul to Aloguinsan in the next few months, but the cost is times two. Dako gyud kaayo, dili gyud ‘ni siya sustainable,” Archival admitted.
The postponement stresses the administration’s balancing act between discipline and practicality.
While the ordinance was poised to “have teeth” this February, Archival has made clear that penalties cannot be imposed until infrastructure gaps are resolved.
San Nicolas Proper Barangay Captain Clifford Jude Ninal confirmed to The Freeman that while barangays had been informed that they would be held accountable and fined for non-segregated garbage, City Hall has yet to provide them with any official directive on when the penalties will actually begin.
For now, Cebu City continues to encourage voluntary compliance, with stricter enforcement promised once systems are in place.
| Written by Caecent No-ot Magsumbol/RAE
