Archival blames opposition anew for stalled Binaliw return

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City has yet to resume dumping its garbage at the Binaliw landfill despite the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) allowing its partial reopening, with Mayor Nestor Archival on Monday blaming opposition from a handful of city councilors for the continued delay.

Archival said the operator of the privately run landfill in Barangay Binaliw decided to wait until the DENR fully lifts its cease-and-desist order after concerns raised by several councilors renewed controversy over the facility.

“Paghatag gyud ug go signal ni DENR sa partial lifting, ningon sila nga maka-padala na ta didto. Pero tungod lagi sa mga concerns o mga privilege speeches sa atong mga konsehal, nigawas nga… sige, dili lang sa mo-labay unya ato lang siguro-on nga makakuha ug total lifting,” Archival said.

(When the DENR gave the go signal through the partial lifting, they said we could already send our garbage there. But because of the concerns and privilege speeches of some councilors, they decided not to accept the waste yet and instead wait until they secure a total lifting.)

The mayor said the landfill operator feared becoming the subject of another controversy if it accepted Cebu City’s garbage under only a partial lifting order.

“They’re looking at the full lifting because they are afraid they might become controversial again,” he said.

Mayor points to ‘few’ councilors

Asked if he believed the opposition within the City Council caused the continued delay, Archival answered in the affirmative.

“That’s correct. Sa tinuod lang, that’s what I see,” he said. (That’s correct. Honestly, that’s what I see.)

He, however, clarified that he is not blaming the entire council.

“But I don’t think the council mao gyud gihimo ana. Only a few of the councilors nga naa, supak ana,” he said. (But I don’t think the council as a whole did that. Only a few councilors oppose it.)

Archival said the city’s continued reliance on alternative disposal sites has already cost Cebu City heavily.

“Kung imong tan-awon, dako man kaayo ang alkanse nato,” he said. (If you look at it, our losses have become very significant.)

He added that City Hall could not force the landfill operator to accept Cebu City’s waste while it continued to seek a full lifting of the DENR order.

“Dili man pod ta kapugos sa karon. Niingon si Binaliw nga, ‘You cannot throw until that time nga ato nang ma-total lifting,’” he said. (We cannot force them right now. Binaliw told us, ‘You cannot dump your garbage until we secure the total lifting.’)

Partial reopening remains in place

The DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas (EMB-7) partially lifted its cease-and-desist order against the Prime Integrated Waste Management Inc. landfill on May 1 after finding that the operator had complied with key remediation and operational requirements following the Jan. 8 trash slide that killed 36 people.

The agency said portions of the landfill may resume operations under strict monitoring while rehabilitation and stabilization measures continue.

Despite that clearance, Cebu City has yet to transport its waste back to Binaliw.

Archival earlier disclosed that City Hall created a technical working committee to review documents related to the landfill’s reopening and address concerns raised after the deadly landfill collapse.

He also expressed frustration that opposition resurfaced even after the City Council previously passed a resolution urging the DENR to expedite the reopening of the landfill.

Costly detour continues

Since Binaliw stopped accepting Cebu City’s garbage after the January disaster, the city has hauled most of its waste to Aloguinsan, roughly 60 kilometers away.

Archival earlier warned that continuing the current hauling arrangement could drive the city’s annual waste disposal expenses to around P1.2 billion, far exceeding the P517-million budget allocated for solid waste management.

The prolonged closure also forced Cebu City to temporarily stockpile garbage at Pond A in the South Road Properties (SRP), a practice that later prompted the DENR to order the city to clear the site within 90 days.

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.