A former Cebu City official has broken his silence following the deadly Binaliw landfill landslide, strongly contesting Mayor Nestor Archival's description of the incident as an "act of God." Atty. Aliko Garganera, former executive assistant to Councilor Joel Garganera, asserts the tragedy was a preventable consequence of long-term systemic failures in the city's solid waste management.
A Decade of Warnings Ignored
Garganera, who extended his deepest condolences to the victims' families, revealed he had intended to wait until search and rescue operations concluded. However, the mayor's public statement compelled him to speak out. He argues the disaster stems not from divine will but from human negligence.
The recent landslide could have been prevented if years of advocacy for landfill rehabilitation and proper infrastructure had been heeded, he stated. This persistent inaction, he claims, is a primary reason he left government service.
Garganera's involvement dates to 2015 with a college thesis analyzing Cebu City's solid waste management. His study concluded that investing in Waste-to-Energy (WTE) technology was more cost-effective than relying on landfills and highlighted the severe environmental and health risks posed by the overcapacity Inayawan landfill.
The Fight for Solutions and Persistent Obstacles
Upon entering government to assist his father, Councilor Joel Garganera, their advocacy led to the Inayawan landfill's closure within six months. However, securing a Supreme Court writ of kalikasan took nearly two years. Officials at the time cited a lack of alternatives, claiming other landfills were too distant and WTE was too expensive and environmentally harmful.
By March 2017, the Garganeras strongly opposed the establishment of the Binaliw landfill, urging a shift to sustainable technology instead. They visited the site multiple times, expressed concerns about earth-moving activities, and acted on community complaints. They were assured by operator Prime Waste that safety and environmental standards were being met.
Garganera points to a long-standing pattern, noting the problem was evident as early as 2012 with Inayawan's partial closure. The city continues to spend roughly P400 million annually on solid waste management, a system he describes as prone to corruption, referencing an Ombudsman case.
A Blueprint from Japan Falls on Deaf Ears
In a dedicated effort to find solutions, Garganera studied in Japan in 2023 under a government scholarship, comparing Yokohama's and Cebu City's waste systems. His findings were clear: invest in proper infrastructure, create a business model for private recycling, use WTE to address existing garbage volume, and run rigorous public education campaigns.
He positioned WTE as a transitional measure toward long-term sustainable methods. He submitted and presented this comprehensive study to the Cebu City Council and the Solid Waste Management Board. Despite a year of work, his proposals were ignored.
He attributes this inaction to politics, recalling how his father was labeled an "alarmist" for urging Inayawan's rehabilitation, mocked by some environmentalists for advocating WTE, and brushed off when insisting on investigating the Binaliw landfill late last year.
Garganera concludes with a direct message to Prime Waste and city officials: "We have told you about it, yet you did not listen. You chose greed, corruption, and lust... Now, blood is in your hands." He calls for urgent government prioritization of solid waste management, warning that further delay will cost more lives. "There's money in garbage," he ends, "but lives were lost."
