THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) intends to seek permission to temporarily reuse the closed Inayawan landfill as a waste transfer station.
DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla said they will petition the Supreme Court (SC) for this authority following Cebu City’s waste disposal system hit a snag. A deadly trash slide forced the suspension of the city’s primary disposal site in Barangay Binaliw, and two neighboring local governments have refused to accept the proposal to divert waste due to sanitation concerns. With a temporary dumping agreement set to expire soon, officials are attempting to secure a stopgap measure to prevent garbage from piling up in the streets.
Why is the National Government intervening to reopen a facility that the SC ordered closed to protect public health?
Inayawan landfill’s history
The 15.4-hectare Inayawan landfill has been off-limits since 2016 following a Writ of Kalikasan — a legal remedy designed to protect the public’s constitutional right to a healthy environment — issued by the Court of Appeals and affirmed by the SC in 2018. The landfill was originally closed in January 2015 after being declared full, though it was briefly reopened in June 2016 under former mayor Michael Rama before the court intervened.
Lotilla announced that they will ask the High Court for an exception during an emergency meeting with the Cebu Provincial Government and the local government units (LGUs) of Cebu City, Talisay City and Minglanilla on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. The DENR will not be asking to fully reopen the site for permanent dumping but to use it as a transfer facility. This would allow waste to be consolidated there before being hauled to a final disposal site elsewhere.
“We will prepare a petition to the Supreme Court, at the very least, to allow a temporary lifting of the prohibition on the use of the Inayawan landfill as a transfer facility,” Lotilla said.
Limited disposal options
The urgency stems from the suspension of operations at the Binaliw landfill. The facility, operated by Prime Integrated Waste Solution Inc., was issued a cease and desist order after a landslide killed 36 workers. This facility served not only Cebu City but also the neighboring cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.
Cebu City currently sends about 600 tons of solid waste daily to a private landfill in Barangay Polog, Consolacion. However, this arrangement will end on Feb. 11. Attempts to find alternative sites in nearby municipalities failed when Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. and Minglanilla Mayor Rajiv Enad rejected a proposal to accept Cebu City’s waste.
Enad cited environmental and health risks, noting that Minglanilla’s own landfill has been closed for three years. He argued that forcing a smaller town to solve a large city’s problem was unfair.
Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, who chairs the committee on environment, acknowledged the difficulty of the situation.
“We don’t have the luxury to choose where to dump our garbage. We are at the mercy on whoever is willing to accept it,” he said.
Sanitation and transport challenges
The refusal from neighboring local government units is partly driven by sanitation issues during transport. Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival cited reports that trucks hauling waste from the city have leaked foul fluids and spattered waste onto roads in other jurisdictions, causing offensive odors and sanitation problems.
In response, Archival issued a memorandum ordering strict compliance with sanitary standards, requiring all trucks to be fully covered and leak-proof. While Gullas and Enad refused the waste itself, they agreed to allow garbage trucks to pass through their jurisdictions, provided the trucks are clean and the waste is disposed of elsewhere.
Archival directed barangay officials to ensure proper supervision of drivers and contractors, warning that traffic and enforcement authorities from other local government units will enforce applicable laws if Cebu City trucks violate environmental regulations within their borders.
Other proposals
Meanwhile, Cebu City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña suggested that technical failures caused the Binaliw landfill collapse and argued that a public hearing would not solve the root causes because the technical aspects are difficult for ordinary citizens to evaluate.
“Holding a public hearing won’t address the root of the problem,” he said.
Osmeña proposed leasing garbage trucks to bypass bureaucratic procurement delays that often leave the City with broken vehicles. He also suggested the City build its own incinerator at the South Road Properties to reduce the volume of waste and lower disposal costs.
“As long as it’s operational and can handle the load, they wouldn’t need the procurement process, no more bidding,” he said.
What’s next
The DENR will proceed with filing the petition to the SC. Meanwhile, the Cebu City Government has until Feb. 11 to secure a new disposal arrangement or extend the current one in Consolacion. City officials are expected to explore agreements with Toledo City and Aloguinsan while strictly enforcing sanitary transport protocols to keep transit routes through Talisay and Minglanilla open.