Prime Integrated Waste Solutions (PWS) general manager Niño Abellana Jr. clarified that the Binaliw landfill is not intentionally barring Cebu City's garbage, stating that waste acceptance is currently restricted due to a partial cease and desist order from the DENR-EMB limiting their interim cell capacity.
Abellana revealed during a Cebu City Council executive session that PWS was previously disqualified from a city garbage contract in May due to an inability to upload documents to PhilGEPS during system maintenance, while also noting that Cebu City owes the company approximately P130 million in past obligations.
Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña stated that Cebu City is spending about P2 million daily to haul waste to Aloguinsan at P3,000 per ton, and the city faces a potential need for an additional P122 million to sustain hauling operations through the end of the year if the Binaliw landfill remains unavailable.
THE company operating the Binaliw landfill has cleared the air regarding why the city’s trash is not being dumped there, confirming that the facility is not intentionally barring the city’s garbage.
Prime Integrated Waste Solutions (PWS) general manager Niño Abellana Jr. addressed the issue during a Cebu City Council executive session on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. He clarified that the decision to hold off on receiving the city's waste is due to a partial cease and desist order (CDO) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB).
Councilors had pressed Abellana on why the facility currently accepts garbage from private haulers but not from local government units (LGUs).
Abellana explained that the landfill’s current "interim cell" is operating under a partial lifting order from the DENR-EMB, which limits its capacity to about 20,000 metric tons. Because of this small limit, they can only accept 10 to 15 metric tons of private waste daily.
“As far as I’m concerned, we’re just really waiting for the full lifting order of EMB. Nothing else,” Abellana told the council. When asked directly if the city had been barred, he replied, “No, wala gyud na. That’s not true.”
To accommodate the city’s massive volume of waste, PWS is currently finishing a larger main cell with a 200,000-metric-ton capacity. While this was originally set to be done by July 31, heavy rains caused minor delays. Abellana expects this cell to be ready in about two weeks.
During the session, the council also clarified why PWS has not secured a city contract for garbage disposal. Abellana revealed that PWS did bid for the contract in May but was disqualified during the post-qualification stage.
He explained that they were unable to upload certain documents to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) due to system maintenance at the time. Since then, the company opted not to join subsequent bidding rounds, choosing instead to focus on rehabilitating the landfill and securing the necessary regulatory clearances first.
“We were disqualified, sir. Na-disqualify mi over some certain documents that we were not able to upload at PhilGEPS,” Abellana said. He added that the company remains willing to participate in future biddings once the regulatory hurdles are cleared.
The session also revealed that Cebu City owes PWS approximately P130 million in past obligations. While the company requested that these be processed to help fund ongoing rehabilitation, Abellana clarified that payment is not an absolute condition for accepting the city’s trash.
This delay is costing the city dearly. Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña noted that Cebu City is currently spending roughly P2 million daily to haul waste to Aloguinsan—a rate of P3,000 per ton, compared to the P1,100-per-ton fee previously charged at Binaliw.
The city’s current budget for these hauling operations is expected to run out by mid-October. If Binaliw remains unavailable, the city would need an additional P122 million to keep operations running through the end of the year.
PWS is currently complying with several safety requirements following the deadly January 8, 2026, landfill collapse that claimed 37 lives. These measures include installing gas vents, rain gauges, and conducting geotechnical analysis.
While the exact date for resuming operations remains in the hands of the DENR-EMB, Abellana hopes that submitting final requirements this week will expedite the process.
For the City Council, the Binaliw situation serves as a wake-up call. Councilors emphasized that the city can no longer rely on a single landfill and must now fast-track a comprehensive solid waste management program—including potential investments in recycling, waste-to-energy technologies, and material recovery facilities—to ensure the city’s garbage crisis does not happen again. CAV