Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival on Thursday urged local governments across Cebu to act early on waste management, warning they could face a crisis similar to what the capital is currently experiencing.
Speaking on the sidelines of a province-led environmental summit on March 19, Archival said Cebu City’s garbage problem should serve as a cautionary example for neighboring cities and municipalities.
“We have a garbage problem in the city, in the province, and all of this is connected,” Archival said in an interview.
“If we have a problem in the city, of course, maapil na ang province because daghan kaayo ang mga tawo muari sa city.”
The summit, organized by the Cebu Provincial Government, gathered local chief executives, national agencies, and environmental stakeholders to address what officials described as a growing waste management challenge affecting the entire island.
Archival emphasized that waste issues go beyond political boundaries, stressing the need for coordinated solutions between highly urbanized cities and the province.
While Cebu City is already grappling with increasing waste volume and landfill pressure, he noted that many towns in the province still have time to prevent a similar situation.
“Dinhi sa province, dili pa kaayo dako ang ilang problema. So it’s very important right now—sa dili pa dako—they need to find the right solutions aron in the future dili mapareha sa syudad,” he said.
Among the key strategies being pushed is waste diversion—reducing the amount of garbage sent to landfills through segregation, recycling, and composting.
Archival said the city continues to explore ways to divert waste, noting the rising cost of disposal.
“We are trying to find solutions to divert the garbage from the landfill because we understand nga dako kaayo ang gasto,” he added.
He also disclosed that waste management will account for the largest share of Cebu City’s upcoming supplemental budget, which is expected to be finalized next week.
“It will be completed by Wednesday next week, and the biggest chunk of the budget is for waste management,” Archival said.
The summit coincided with the launch of the province’s “Clean Cebu Campaign,” a unified initiative aimed at strengthening waste management systems across municipalities and component cities.
Governor Pamela Baricuatro earlier stressed the urgency of addressing waste concerns, citing their impact on public health, safety, and disaster preparedness.
Officials from national agencies, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, also backed calls for stricter waste segregation, improved landfill management, and stronger community participation.
A pledge of commitment was signed during the event, signaling a collective effort among local governments, private sector partners, and civil society groups to address Cebu’s waste challenges.
Archival said sustained collaboration will be critical as population movement and economic activity continue to link Cebu City with surrounding areas.
“We are here because it is very important that we should be part of the solution of garbage,” he said.
He warned that without early and coordinated action, the waste problem now concentrated in Cebu City could spread and worsen across the rest of the province. (LLP)
