A THIRD TRASH SLIDE (or landfill collapse) occurred in Barangay Carmen, Davao City killing one person, injuring two others and leaving at least two missing persons on May 20.
This is the third in 2026 with the first on January 8 in Binaliw, Cebu leaving 36 people dead and 18 injuries and scores missing and the second one in February was in Rodriguez, Rizal (a provincial sanitary landfill) with multiple deaths and missing persons plus burying heavy equipment.
Then on May 20, the Davao City City Sanitary Landfill in Barangay New Carmen collapsed killing one person, injuring two others and at least two people were reported missing. Rescue teams were deployed but the unstable ground gave them limited access.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) highlighted the need for urgent corrective measures, citing earlier violations like lack of discharge permit, failed effluent standards, and inadequate leachate treatment. Inspections also flagged steep slopes, collapsed ponds, and informal dwellings within the buffer zone. This landfill was opened in 2000 by then Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
The DENR said these disasters are caused primarily by oversaturated, towering mounts of waste, especially during heavy rains.
The disaster at the 35-meter high mound of garbage in Binaliw was the at the Prime Waste Solutions landfill, burying the materials recovery facility (MRF) that buried 36 people, injured 18 others and many more still missing.
The trashslide in Rodriguez, Rizal last February had a portion of the landfill eroding just weeks after the Cebu trashslide burying heavy equipment and workers. Multiple deaths and missing individuals reported (early reports indicated at least one dead and several missing).
On July 10, 2000 the Payatas dumpsite in Quezon City collapsed after heavy rains from a typhoon burying hundreds of homes in a neighboring community. Over 200 people were killed and over 300 went missing (with some estimating the missing persons at close to 1,000). This was closed in 2000 after the disaster.
The common denominator among these trash slides were: overstocking (beyond the rated capacity), violations of environmental clearance certificate, lack of discharge permits, failing effluent standards, and maintaining an inadequate leachate treatment system.
These incidents led to urgent calls from environmental groups like Greenpeace Philippines to address the broken waste management system, citing over-reliance on plastic and poor maintenance of sanitary landfills.
The Davao sanitary landfill was the first to open in Mindanao with then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte leading local officials in formally opening it in 2009 in Barangay New Carmen, Tugbok.
Back then, the P268-million landfill was designed to address the volume of garbage churned out by the city’s 1.6 million residents that reached 272,916 cubic meters from January to August this year, which leapt to 358,572 cubic meters the following year.
“This is one project that I vowed the city would really have,” said Duterte, stressing that the city government gives priority to environmental concerns,” the Philippine Star reported then.
He said the city government continues to think of ways on how to effectively collect wastes, as he observed how scavengers mindlessly scatter garbage from trash bins.
The DENR said that multiple prior environmental and safety violations were flagged before Wednesday’s tragedy, said DENR Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna, stressing that “every life lost is unacceptable.”
“The DENR and the LGU (local government unit) have been working together on the technical and regulatory requirements for months. This incident reinforces the need to accelerate slope stabilization and the safe closure plan.”
The DENR said the collapse happened at about 1:10 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, in the landfill’s active disposal area in Barangay New Carmen after days of heavy rain.
Search and rescue teams from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), 911 Urban Search and Rescue, the City Engineer’s Office, and barangay responders were immediately deployed to the area, but unstable ground conditions limited access to the site.
Right after the incident, the City Engineer’s Office declared the area unsafe for full entry, prompting a temporary halt to disposal operations and perimeter control, while technical teams evaluated the extent of the waste movement.
Initial investigation disclosed that the mass-wasting incident was allegedly caused by water buildup underneath the landfill following continuous heavy rains, resulting in the collapse of a portion of the garbage mound that buried nearby residential structures.
Search and retrieval operations for the reported missing persons.
“Inspection records show the landfill had been under close monitoring since January. EMB (Environmental Management Bureau) 11 (Davao Region) held technical meetings with the city (government) on Jan. 20 and March 4, and issued a Notice of Violation on March 19 for operating without a discharge permit, failing effluent standards, and maintaining an inadequate leachate treatment system,” the DENR said.
The DENR also said that inspectors also documented steep slopes, a collapsed leachate pond, and the presence of informal waste pickers and makeshift dwellings near the landfill perimeter, which, the DENR said, were conditions that became the basis for recommendations to stabilize slopes, partially close sections of the facility, and relocate households within the 200-meter buffer zone.
A technical conference on April 29 resulted in the Davao city government committing to pay penalties and submit a pollution control program.
The DENR said the landfill currently receives an average of 786 tons of waste daily and is nearing full capacity.
A new sanitary landfill expansion located adjacent to the existing site is already 52 percent complete, while part of the city’s waste is being diverted through a co-processing agreement with Geocycle-Holcim.
Cuna warned that operations at the landfill could be suspended, to resume only once authorities declare the facility safe.
“We are committed to ensuring that Davao City’s waste facilities are safe, compliant, and resilient,” PNA quoted him.
The fatality in the Davao City landfill collapse was identified as Cristel, a scavenger and resident of Purok 8, Barangay New Carmen, said to be around 31 or 32. Two other individuals were injured in the incident, including a 16-year-old boy and an adult woman identified as Lilibeth. Both were rushed for medical treatment.
Police reported that initial findings showed that the collapse was allegedly caused by water buildup underneath the landfill after days of continuous heavy rainfall that hit Davao City beginning May 18.
Authorities described the incident as a “mass wasting” event, where accumulated rainwater weakened the stability of the garbage mound, causing a large section to cave in.
Following the tragedy, police immediately cordoned off the road leading to Purok 8 and prohibited residents from returning to their homes due to fears of another collapse.
Over 100 families living near the landfill site were evacuated and temporarily sheltered at the barangay gymnasium and covered court as a precautionary measure.
Residents said they remain anxious as the unstable garbage mountain continues to threaten nearby communities.
A statement released Thursday, by DCPO City Director P/Col Peter Madria extended sympathy to the victims’ families and assured the public that authorities are doing everything possible to ensure community safety.
“The Davao City Police Office extends its heartfelt sympathy to the families affected by this unfortunate incident. We assure the public that all responding units and partner agencies are continuously working together to conduct search and retrieval operations and to ensure the safety of the community,” Madria said.
He urged residents to remain calm, cooperate with authorities, and strictly observe safety measures, particularly in areas vulnerable to landslides and flooding during periods of heavy rainfall.
Environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) also expressed concern over the incident, saying the tragedy exposed deeper issues surrounding waste management and the plight of informal waste workers.
In a statement, IDIS Executive Director Atty. Mark Peñalver said the collapse reflected the growing challenges posed by the increasing volume of waste being disposed of daily in landfills.
The tragedy highlights the importance of a strong integrated waste management system that prioritizes waste reduction, segregation at source, recycling, composting, and responsible disposal to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” Peñalver said.
The group also emphasized the dangerous conditions faced by waste pickers working in the informal waste sector.
“Waste pickers and other informal workers play a significant role in waste recovery and recycling. However, many continue to work under unsafe and vulnerable conditions,” the group stated.
IDIS added that waste management should not only be treated as an environmental concern but also as an issue involving public safety, human dignity, and social justice.
In 2023, the City Environmental and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), Lakandiwa Orcullo, head of the Waste Management Division, said the continued use of the landfill despite its overcapacity, was inevitable as there was yet no identified alternative landfill for the city’s waste of 700 to 800 tons a day. The volume of trash had since risen to 1,000 tons per day.
“We don’t have a choice right now. We have to maximize the existing landfill,” Orcullo told reporters back then.
The city government has set aside ₱340 million for the Phase 1 or the expansion of the landfill, which will be just beside the existing landfill, with an additional ₱219 million for the Phase 2 of the project, funded from 2023 city budget.
Orcullo said that a planned nine-hectare land which will house storage for hazardous and infectious wastes, among other ordinary wastes, was 55-percent complete to accommodate garbage.
Davao City enforces City Ordinance No. 0371-10, known as the Davao City Ecological Solid Waste Management Ordinance of 2009, which requires all waste generators, households and business establishments to segregate solid waste on their own.
A national law, Republic Act 9003 (“Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000), meanwhile, stipulates that each barangay or cluster of barangays will be required to establish a material recovery facility (MRF) to serve as a designated drop-off point for waste sorting, recycling, and composting at the household level.
Orcullo said only 53 out of 182 barangays have MRFs and that barangays are supposed to handle biodegradable and recyclable waste, leaving only residual and special waste for landfills.
However, most barangays lack composting facilities, making it difficult for residents to practice proper segregation. This would result in compostable food waste still ending up in landfills, which can worsen the city pollution.
The city landfill has also been flagged for violations like:
Operating without a valid wastewater discharge permit.
Failure to meet environmental effluent standards due to an inadequate leachate treatment system.
Structural hazards, including over-steepened waste slopes and collapsed retention ponds.
Safety buffer violations, specifically the presence of informal dwellings inside the mandatory 200-meter safety zone.
