DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 07 June 2026) – A garbage crisis triggered by a trash-slide on May 20 in the city’s sanitary landfill remains unresolved 18 days later (June 7), as the Davao City government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) XI are embroiled in a policy war. The trash-slide left two persons dead, two injured, one still missing, and resulted in 12,000 tons of garbage with nowhere to go. The city collects a minimum of 700 tons of trash daily. Mayor Sebastian Duterte issued a statement 15 days after the incident, announcing that the adjacent sanitary landfill would start operations by June 16. However, the DENR stated on June 5 that the suspension order on the Davao City Sanitary Landfill (SLF) would only be lifted “once all required safety and engineering interventions are completed.” The city government proposed a temporary disposal area within the SLF on May 26, committing to complete necessary interventions by June 9. Major city streets have been filled with uncollected garbage, with barangays ceasing collections and city council members clarifying that landfill capacity, not collections, was the issue. Duterte blamed the DENR for the delay, taunting the agency by designating its frontage as a garbage collection point. Mounds of garbage were dumped on the road fronting the DENR XI office, despite local ordinances prohibiting such actions. The city faces this crisis during its tourism event, Duaw Dabaw, and Environment Month. Meanwhile, the DENR XI sidewalk was cleared by Sunday, with a tarpaulin warning against illegal disposal. The timeline includes the trash-slide on May 20, the DENR’s stoppage order on May 21, the city’s Motion for Reconsideration on May 26, environmental group IDIS’s statement on June 3, and Mayor Duterte’s statements on June 4 and 5, with the DENR reiterating its stance on suspension until safety measures are completed. Options suggested by the DENR include coordinating with neighboring LGUs, co-processing arrangements with Holcim-Geocycle, and establishing a temporary disposal area within the current SLF. (Yas D. Ocampo / MindaNews)
