By Atty. Aliko Garganera
Former executive assistant
Office of Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera
(The views and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of my previous employer, my father as well as the City Government, and all other organizations I am affiliated with.)
First of all, I would like to extend my deepest condolences and prayers to the victims and families of the recent landfill landslide. May this tragedy remind us of the frailty of human life and that life is just a mist -- “the Lord gives, the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21.) Therefore, may this tragedy draw our hearts to reflect on the vanity of pursuing earthly things and may the Holy Spirit enlighten our hearts to repent of our sins and believe in Jesus Christ alone that we may have eternal life in Him.
I thank our Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO), Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and other government personnel who have been working around the clock in the search and rescue. Our prayers are with you.
I wanted to remain silent. I wanted to wait until the search and rescue operations have been completed. I wanted to give everyone time to hope and to grieve. But then, our Mayor Nestor Archival has spoken -- claiming that the recent tragedy was an “act of God” and not of man. I learned never to blame God for the consequence of the sins of man. Therefore, I must speak and stand up for the truth.
Call fallen on deaf ears
The recent Binaliw landfill landslide could have been prevented by simply listening to what have been saying for years: rehabilitate the landfills, invest in proper infrastructure, and ensure the safety and compliance of these establishments. Now, it took away many precious lives.
And this is why I quit the government.
Since 2015, I have rigorously studied the city’s solid waste management (SWM) for my college thesis. It was entitled, “A Cost and Benefit Analysis between a Sanitary Landfill and an Incinerator [now referred to as a Waste-to-Energy Technology (WTE)]” where we found that it is more cost-effective to invest in the technology rather than a landfill. In the same study, we found that the Inayawan landfill had exceeded its usefulness and caused grave and serious environmental and health concerns. With no safe closure and rehabilitation in sight, the damage continues to this day.
So when given the opportunity to use my study for the common good, I gave up all my career plans and entered the government to assist my father and elected Councilor Joel Garganera to advocate for the closure of the landfill. By God’s grace, it was closed within six months from the time he swore into office. But it took almost two years before the Supreme Court decided to grant the writ of kalikasan. God knows how much we had to fight for it when there should not have been one in the first place.
An excuse given by our officials then was the lack of an alternative. They said, the other landfills are too far and WTEs are too expensive and harmful to the environment. This was 2016. On that same year, we rallied for a proper infrastructure for our SWM -- especially for WTE. The same excuses are still being said now. But even so-called environmentalists would insist that we can solve this problem simply by waste segregation and zero-waste campaigns. They would sow fear in the minds of the public by taking advantage of their ignorance -- yet, none could offer real and practical alternatives for the city. Six hundred tons of garbage per day without the proper infrastructure -- what can be done?
Long-existing problem
The problem has already made itself known as early as 2012 when Inayawan was partially closed -- yet here we are, still relying on costly, patched-up, band-aid solutions at the expense of lives, livelihoods, and the environment. The solution to a closed landfill? Another landfill.
In March 2017, we strongly opposed the Binaliw landfill and begged to shift to a more sustainable technology. We visited the same facility multiple times and had expressed our concern over their earth-moving activities. We even received several complaints from the neighboring community and acted on them within our power.
Pero unsaon man kana, usahay magkompyansa man ta kay hatagan pud ta og dili sakto nga assurance. Prime Waste insisted that they are operating according to safety and environmental standards.
The City spends hundreds of millions for SWM each year (i.e., in recent years, it’s been around P400 million a year) and it is also an avenue for corruption and plunder by public officials (see: Ombudsman case vs. Casas, et. al.).
Invest in proper infrastructure
Still, in another effort to help the city, I ventured to study in Japan under a Japanese government scholarship in 2023. The objective of my study was simple: to conduct a comparative analysis between the SWM systems of Yokohama City and Cebu City. You would think it wasn’t a proper match considering the gap in population, land area, income, and GDP. I tell you: they were once where we are now.
And my findings were simple: invest in proper infrastructure, create a robust business model for private recycling sector, address the existing volume of garbage by WTE, and, simultaneously, implement rigorous information and educational campaign towards responsible SWM (even towards sustainable and zero-waste practices.)
It might be easy to change a system, but it takes hard work to change the culture. We cannot simply change habits overnight. Thus, I only proposed for WTE as a transitionary measure until we could establish sustainable methods in the long run.
I submitted my study to the City Council through my father’s office and even presented it to the SWM Board. I spent a year of my life making sure that my study would be useful to the city. I had to steward the privilege that was given to me; and my father advocated strongly to make it happen; yet… all of it fell on deaf ears. SWM is obviously not a priority to our leaders.
Why? Because of politics.
When my father raised again the urgency of rehabilitating the Inayawan landfill (it has been almost a decade since its closure, by the way) my father was branded as an “alarmist” by the mayor for insisting on the urgency of the issue. When he advocated for WTE in the city, environmentalists would sneer at him and accuse him of having a personal interest in it, and when he insisted on investigating Binaliw landfill late last year -- he was brushed off.
The Binaliw landfill landslide is indeed a tragedy. It could have been prevented -- and they should have done so. This is not an “act of God” though God may have allowed it -- but man is responsible for it.
So I will say the things my father might not say to you all, especially to Prime Waste and our dear officials: we have told you about it, yet you did not listen. You chose greed, corruption, and lust. You chose sin. Now, blood is in your hands. Repent and turn to Christ.
Tell me I am playing the blame game; so what, you can blame it on God? Of course, I am grieved, I am angry, and I am frustrated. Dugay na ni nga problema; trace the paper trail if you have to.
I spent nine years of my youth in the government fighting for this single cause and there is not a single regret in my heart knowing that I fought with my all. I have spoken my piece, maybe it’s time you listened. I am calling our government to prioritize our SWM now. Otherwise, it may cost many more lives. Naa'y kwarta sa basura, pero kinabuhi ang nakalas.