DENR Taps Academe, NGOs for Independent Probe on Binaliw Landslide

Weeks after the deadly collapse at the Binaliw Sanitary Landfill, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has formed an independent team of government experts, academic specialists, and civil society representatives to investigate the incident.

In Special Order No. 2026-32 dated January 26, DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla created the composite team to lead a fact-finding mission following the January 8 trash slide that killed at least 36 people.

“This is in strict adherence to the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure safety, transparency, and accountability,” Lotilla said in a January 29 statement.

“The government is taking all necessary measures to ensure that responsible parties are held answerable for this tragedy.”

Assistant Secretary Norlito A. Eneran of DENR’s Legal Affairs, Enforcement, and Human Resources office will lead the probe.

To ensure impartiality, external experts were also appointed: Aileen Lucero, national coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition, representing environmental advocacy groups, and Engr. Janice Jamora, chair of the College of Engineering at the University of San Carlos–Talamban Campus, providing technical and academic oversight.

The team also includes top DENR officials, such as Dr. Kevin Garas of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Engr. Regina Paula D. Eugenio of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), and Atty. Rosette Ferrer of the Legal Affairs Service.

A technical secretariat will gather documents, interview officials, and compile evidence for potential administrative, civil, or criminal cases.

The probe covers the 17-hectare landfill’s engineering and environmental compliance, including adherence to its Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and sanitary landfill standards.

The team will also develop a rehabilitation plan with a clear timetable, assess alternative waste disposal sites to help ease Cebu City’s ongoing garbage crisis, and recommend long-term measures to strengthen solid waste management enforcement.

Lotilla said the findings are expected within five days after the team completes its work.

“By involving experts from academia and civil society, we are ensuring that our findings are credible and rooted in the best available science,” he added.

The DENR action comes as Cebu City Councilors continue their own review of the collapse.

EMB 7 Director John Edward Ang, who assumed office on January 21, said the agency conducted inspections and monitoring after the incident.

Prime Waste Solutions was ordered to implement emergency stabilization, remediation, and environmental recovery measures, while EMB issued a cease-and-desist order allowing only cleanup and rehabilitation work.

Councilors raised concerns over the landfill’s ECC, initially issued in 2017 and amended in 2020 and 2022, which projected a five-year operational period starting in 2020.

The DENR’s composite team, backed by independent experts, is expected to provide answers on both the cause of the landslide and measures to prevent another disaster. (LLP)