THE Mandaue City Council has unanimously approved a measure allowing the temporary disposal of the city’s garbage in Barangay Garing, Consolacion, following the closure of the Binaliw landfill due to safety and environmental concerns after a garbage landslide on January 8, 2026.
Councilor Joel Seno said the decision was made to address the immediate and urgent situation caused by a trash slide at the Binaliw landfill, which prompted the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to issue a cease and desist order against the facility.
“This is basically to address the immediate concern. We all know that we are dealing with an emergency situation in the aftermath of the trash slide at the Binaliw Landfill,” Seno said.
He said that under the leadership of Mayor Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano, the City Government began searching for alternative disposal sites after the landfill was ordered closed.
“Because Binaliw was shut down due to the DENR’s cease and desist order, the city had no choice but to look for other options on where to dispose of our garbage,” Seno said.
After evaluating possible alternatives, the city identified Barangay Garing in the Municipality of Consolacion as a temporary disposal site.
During a special session held on January 21, 2026, the City Council granted Ouano the authority to sign a memorandum of agreement that would allow Mandaue City to dispose of its waste in the area.
“We granted the mayor the authority to sign the memorandum of agreement so that we would be allowed to dispose of our garbage in Barangay Garing,” Seno said, noting that this was the main agenda discussed during the special session.
Seno said the Council unanimously approved the measure, emphasizing that proper waste disposal is a shared responsibility of the City Government.
“We unanimously approved it because we believe in the cause. We have to take care of the proper disposal of our garbage,” he said.
However, Seno clarified that the arrangement is only a temporary solution.
The contract will cover a period of three months and is intended as a stopgap measure while the city works on identifying a long-term waste management plan.
“This is only a stopgap. We cannot rely on a temporary solution alone. The contract is good for three months, and in the meantime, we are actively looking for a long-term solution,” he said.
Seno warned that failure to act swiftly could result in serious environmental consequences for the city.
“If we do not address this immediately, the city might experience an environmental disaster,” he said.
The total cost of the contract is estimated at around P62 million, which Seno said covers the entire duration of the agreement and not a monthly expense.
“We are not looking at it on a monthly basis. The amount is for the whole contract, which is more or less P62 million,” he added.
The City Government has assured residents that it will continue to explore sustainable and permanent solutions to its waste disposal problem to prevent similar emergencies in the future. (ABC)