ONE person was confirmed dead while two others were still missing following a trash slide at a landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal, Mayor Ronnie Evangelista confirmed Monday, February 23, 2026.
In a television interview, Evangelista said one body has already been retrieved from the collapse site and has been turned over to the family.
“Talagang recovery operations na lang ‘yung dalawa na baka sakali makuha natin kasi alam niyo naman ang hirap ng retrieval operations, kung gabundok na mga basura yan mahirap, hindi ito ‘yung ordinary lang na retrieval operation,” Evangelista said.
(It’s really now just recovery operations for the two, in case we can still retrieve them, because you know how difficult retrieval operations are—if the trash is piled like a mountain, it’s hard; this is not an ordinary retrieval operation.)
Evangelista said, based on their initial investigation, the trash slide may have been caused by compaction activities in a portion of the landfill.
“’Yung weight ng mga bulldozer ito ‘yung nag-trigger kaya nagkaroon ng trash slide. Hindi ito ‘yung typical na landslide na nasa isip natin na dahil sa madaming tubig or may bagyo ay naglandslide ‘yung area na yun. I think this is more of an accident,” he added.
(The weight of the bulldozers triggered the trash slide. This is not the typical landslide we think of that happens due to heavy water or a storm causing an area to collapse. I think this is more of an accident.)
The local chief executive said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is looking into the possible accountability of the landfill operators.
He said operations in the portion where the incident happened were temporarily stopped, but the rest of the area continues to operate. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)