PROVINCIAL Board (PB) Member Celestino Martinez III has called for an urgent inquiry into the disposal of hospital waste materials, revealing that the problem of improper dumping is widespread across Cebu.
His call came after reports of medical waste found discarded along roadsides in various municipalities.
Speaking from the Capitol legislative building on Monday, July 21, 2025, Martinez stated that the recent incident in Tabogon, where medical waste was found dumped, is not isolated.
“Apparently, Tabogon is not the only one with that problem. There have been municipalities that [have] reported the same problem,” Martinez said, noting the issue extends beyond his own fourth district. He called the recurring incidents “alarming.”
However, Martinez did not specify further which other towns experienced the same incident.
During Monday’s PB session, Martinez sponsored a resolution requesting the PB’s committee on public health and social services to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the existing rules and guidelines for disposing of medical waste from hospitals under the Province of Cebu. The resolution was approved.
Martinez suspects a systemic issue with waste management.
“Maybe there’s a problem [with] where to dump it, or where to throw it, because my initial feedback is there is a problem among towns and cities [with] where they can put hazardous and medical waste from the hospitals,” he explained.
Dumping practices
Martinez also raised concerns about reports of hospital waste being transported from Mandaue City to Leyte, a neighboring province.
“Imagine, the neighboring province complained because we’re sending our waste to another province. I think we should really look into that matter already, because we might feel embarrassed, we might feel ashamed,” Martinez said.
Martinez hopes members of the committee on environment will also investigate these dumping practices.
He further appealed to hospital chiefs to direct their waste disposal teams to address the issue.
Martinez awaits the recommendations from the committee on laws as the inquiry proceeds, underscoring the urgency of finding sustainable and safe solutions for hazardous medical waste disposal.
Waste transfer
In a previous SunStar report, residents of Barangay Libjo, Tabogon discovered piles of medical waste on June 24 and promptly reported it to local officials due to health concerns. The waste, which includes used syringes, dialysis tubing, and blood collection tubes, has been reportedly traced to a private medical laboratory in Bogo City.
On July 11, the Leyte PB summoned officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and its Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) to explain the transfer of medical waste from Cebu into the province without prior consultation. PB Member Carlo Petilla Loreto cited public concern and a possible violation of the Leyte Environmental Code.
Loreto reportedly said the board was not informed about the transport of hazardous waste from Mandaue City to Cleanaway Philippines Inc., a DENR-accredited treatment, storage and disposal facility based in Isabel, Leyte. / JPS