36 Dead, Billions Wasted: Cebu's Garbage Greed

Decades of ignoring waste laws killed 36 workers and now costs taxpayers billions—all because officials refused to enforce segregation.

For 25 years, Cebu City violated RA 9003. No segregation. No Materials Recovery Facilities. Just landfills pushed past capacity until January 8, 2026, when a garbage landslide at Binaliw crushed workers alive. The death toll hit 36. The landfill closed overnight.

Now the city hauls trash 60 kilometers away at nearly four times the cost—from ₱1,100 to ₱3,906 per ton. Annual expenses could hit ₱2 billion. Taxpayers bleed. Businesses scramble. All because leaders chose inaction over implementation. The law existed. Enforcement didn't. Thirty-six lives and billions of pesos later, Cebu finally learns: compliance is always cheaper than catastrophe.