Cebu City has yet to resume dumping waste at the Binaliw landfill despite receiving clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7.
Mayor Nestor Archival cited ongoing opposition from several individuals as the reason for the delay. He said the city is forced to continue hauling waste to Aloguinsan while waiting for procurement processes and additional reviews to be completed.
The mayor revealed that the DENR has allowed the landfill operator to resume limited operations. Archival made this clarification on Friday, June 19, 2026, after questions arose regarding a cease-and-desist order (CDO) issued by the DENR against the city's waste operations at the South Road Properties (SRP) on June 7.
Archival said he has not yet received a copy of the CDO but assured the public that the city will comply with the order. He added that the accumulated waste at the SRP transfer area will be cleaned up before the first week of July, earlier than the 60- to 90-day cleanup period imposed by the DENR.
Based on the city's assessment, the SRP area needs to be significantly cleared before the September deadline. The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7 earlier issued a cease-and-desist order against the city's waste operations at the SRP after finding that the area was being used for waste disposal and transfer without the necessary environmental clearances.
DENR officials said the city promised to clean up the area within 60 to 90 days and transfer the waste to authorized disposal sites. However, Archival emphasized that the long-term solution remains the reopening of Prime Integrated Waste Solutions (PWS) in Binaliw.
Archival stated that the DENR has already issued a lifting order allowing PWS to accept waste again while rehabilitation work continues. Records from the EMB show that on April 2, the agency partially granted PWS's motion to lift the cease-and-desist order issued on January 12 following a fatal garbage-slide incident.
In a letter signed by former EMB-7 Director John Edward Ang, the agency allowed the company to use an interim disposal cell covering 2,746 square meters while rehabilitation of the affected portions of the landfill proceeds. The order clarified that only the interim cell may receive solid waste, while other areas of the landfill remain prohibited from accepting waste. Prime was also directed to submit weekly reports on the progress of rehabilitation to EMB-7.
Archival said several sectors continue to question the reopening of the landfill, prompting the city to take additional steps for review. “So that’s why I created a technical working committee, just to satisfy the people who claim that there have been deaths,” he said.
He added that a technical working committee was formed to review all documents and permits related to the landfill's reopening. He noted that the committee's report has been completed and submitted.
Archival explained that the delay in using the Binaliw facility has increased costs for Cebu City because waste is being dumped in Aloguinsan. The city currently spends about P3,000 per ton to haul waste to Aloguinsan, amounting to P117.18 million monthly. In comparison, dumping at Binaliw would cost only P19.8 million per month.
As the city prepares to resume operations at Binaliw, Archival said procurement requirements still need to be completed. He added that even though the city has funding authority through an approved supplemental budget, the administration aims to inform the City Council of developments to avoid future disputes.
