CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Government said it stands ready to settle more than ₱100 million in unpaid obligations to Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. (PIWSI), while it works with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to secure the landfill operator’s return as the city’s long-term garbage disposal facility.
Kenneth Siasar, chief of staff of Mayor Nestor Archival, said on Monday, Aug. 17, that the city has no intention of withholding payment for the ₱130-million obligation incurred under previous administrations, However, it wants to ensure the required documents and signatures fall in place.
“Willing ang atong administration ni Mayor Nestor Archival nga mubayad sa kanang accountability sa dakbayan basta kompleto lang ang dokumento,” Siasar said. (The Archival administration is willing to pay the city’s obligation as long as the documents are complete.)
PIWSI: DENR order, not council pushback, delays Binaliw landfill return
Siasar said that the city has completed the documents for the PrimeWaste obligation except for a required signature. Once the document receives the missing signature, he said, the city can process the payment.
Binaliw remains long-term option
The city continues to look for a way back to the landfill in Barangay Binaliw, which the DENR ordered closed following a deadly trash-slide incident in January.
Siasar described the city’s continued hauling of garbage to Aloguinsan as a short-term measure, while the administration works to restore Binaliw as its long-term disposal site.
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“Naa ta’y long term. Naa ta’y short term,” Siasar said. (We have a long-term [solution]. We have a short-term [solution].)
For the long term, Siasar said that the city has written the DENR to seek recommendations on what it must do to resume garbage disposal at Binaliw.
Payment and DENR clearance
“Ang kanang atong long term unta nga makalabay kita diha sa landfill sa Binaliw,” he said. (Our long-term goal is for us to be able to dispose of our waste at the Binaliw landfill.)
He said the city has also met with DENR officials to determine what steps could allow PrimeWaste to accept Cebu City’s garbage again.
The landfill operator still awaits the DENR’s full lifting of its cease-and-desist order. PrimeWaste previously said it continues to comply with additional requirements imposed by the DENR Environmental Management Bureau.
The ₱130-million obligation emerged as a concern during the City Council’s executive session on Binaliw last week, when councilors asked PrimeWaste General Manager Niño Abellana Jr. whether the city’s unpaid obligations could affect its return to the landfill.
Paying to use Binaliw landfill
Abellana said that the unpaid obligation remained a concern but indicated that the company could discuss the matter if the city showed a clear intent to process the payment.
He also clarified that the Archival administration had already settled its own obligations with PrimeWaste, leaving the ₱130 million incurred under the previous administration.
Councilors, meanwhile, cautioned against making the city’s access to Binaliw contingent on old debts, particularly as the city continues to face a waste-management crisis.
Councilor Harry Eran said that the city recognizes its contractual obligations but argued that debts incurred under a previous administration should not prevent the current government from securing waste-disposal services.
Complying with requirements
PrimeWaste also previously rejected claims that opposition from city councilors caused the delay in Cebu City’s return to Binaliw, saying it has only been waiting for the DENR’s full lifting order.
The company participated in the city’s first waste-disposal bidding in May but failed during post-qualification because of documentation issues. It did not join the succeeding biddings while awaiting full DENR clearance.
PrimeWaste has said it continues to comply with requirements from the DENR-EMB following inspections of the facility.
The operator previously identified additional measures involving gas vents, leachate treatment documentation, geotechnical analysis and a rain gauge as part of its compliance efforts.
DENR compliance remains key
The DENR’s eventual decision could also impose operating limits even after a full lifting of the cease-and-desist order, PrimeWaste earlier said.
Siasar said that the city’s current discussions with the DENR aim to determine what the government must accomplish before Cebu City can resume disposal at Binaliw.
The Binaliw landfill suffered a deadly trash slide on Jan. 8 that killed 36 workers and injured 18 others. The accident prompted the DENR to issue a cease-and-desist order and forced the city to seek alternative sites for its daily garbage.
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