PIWSI: DENR order, not council pushback, delays Binaliw landfill return

Abellana’s statement directly contradicted Mayor Nestor Archival’s earlier claim.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. (PIWSI) has denied that opposition from Cebu City councilors delayed the city’s return to the Binaliw landfill, saying it has only been waiting for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ full lifting order.

PIWSI General Manager Niño Abellana Jr. told the Cebu City Council during an executive session on Tuesday, Aug. 11, that the company’s decision not to join succeeding city waste-disposal biddings did not stem from opposition within the council.

“Actually sir, sa amo-a lang jud, sir, we’re just really waiting for the full lifting order of EMB. Nothing else,” Abellana said. (Actually, sir, from our end, we’re really just waiting for the full lifting order from the EMB. Nothing else.)

Abellana’s statement directly contradicted Mayor Nestor Archival’s earlier claim that concerns and privilege speeches from some councilors prompted the landfill operator to hold off on accepting Cebu City’s garbage until the DENR fully lifts its cease-and-desist order.

The clarification came as councilors pressed PIWSI on why Binaliw currently accepts waste from private haulers while Cebu City continues to send its garbage to alternative disposal sites at significantly higher cost.

PIWSI joined first city bidding

Abellana said PIWSI participated in Cebu City’s first bidding for waste disposal in May and emerged as the lone bidder.

The company expected to secure the contract but failed during post-qualification after the city’s Bids and Awards Committee inspected the facility and raised concerns about the landfill’s limited capacity under the DENR’s partial lifting order.

At the time, the interim cell had a capacity of only about 20,000 metric tons, while the larger main cell remained under construction.

Abellana said PIWSI proposed an arrangement under which Cebu City could use the interim cell while the company transferred waste internally to the larger cell once the smaller cell reached capacity.

That arrangement, however, did not proceed.

Abellana said PIWSI ultimately lost its bid over documentation compliance.

“We got disqualified actually over some issues on our documentation compliance,” he said.

He later clarified that the company could not upload some required documents to the Philippine government’s online procurement portal because the system underwent maintenance, although PIWSI submitted hard copies.

“Very trivial lang siya, sir,” Abellana said. (It was a very minor matter, sir.)

Councilor Joel Garganera then asked Abellana to clarify whether PIWSI participated in the initial bidding.

“Yes, sir. During the first bid, sir, mi-participate mi,” Abellana said. (Yes, sir. During the first bid, we participated.)

For the succeeding second and third biddings, however, the company decided not to participate while waiting for the DENR-EMB’s full lifting order.

“Pag-next na bidding, we decided, ‘Sige, mag-wait na lang jud ta sa full lifting,’” Abellana said. (For the next bidding, we decided, “Let’s just wait for the full lifting.”)

Binaliw operator rejects ‘council opposition’ claim

Garganera directly asked Abellana whether council opposition had prevented PIWSI from accepting Cebu City’s garbage.

“Actually, sir, wala jud na siya, sir,” Abellana said. (Actually, sir, that was never the case.)

Abellana said PIWSI has spent heavily on rehabilitation since the Jan. 8 Binaliw landfill collapse, which killed 36 people.

The company consequently opened its partially cleared interim cell to private haulers, allowing it to continue operating and retain its workers while it awaits full regulatory clearance.

PIWSI currently accepts an average of 10 to 15 tons of waste daily from private haulers, Abellana said.

It does not currently accept waste from any local government unit, including Cebu City.

Councilor Sisinio Andales, who presided over the executive session, asked Abellana directly whether any ban or restriction prevented the city from using the Binaliw landfill.

“No, Mr. Chair, wala jud na siya’y ingon ana. That’s not true,” Abellana said. (No, Mr. Chair, there is nothing like that. That is not true.)

When Andales asked whether the City Council’s opposition had prevented PIWSI from accepting Cebu City’s waste, Abellana again rejected the claim.

He said councilors had raised legitimate safety concerns during earlier discussions, but PIWSI had tried to address them.

Binaliw landfill still awaits full DENR clearance

While PIWSI disputes the political explanation for the delay, the landfill has not yet secured the full lifting order from the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas.

The DENR partially lifted its cease-and-desist order on the facility after the operator complied with key remediation and operational requirements following the deadly January landslide.

The partial lifting currently covers the interim cell, which PIWSI said can accommodate about 20,000 metric tons.

The company’s larger main cell has an estimated capacity of about 200,000 metric tons and would eventually accommodate local government waste.

Abellana said construction of the main cell, originally targeted for completion by July 31, suffered a slight delay because of heavy rains in late July.

He estimated that the remaining work could take about two more weeks.

“The main, which is the bigger one, [has a] capacity of about 200,000 metric tons, kana lang siya na-estimate,” Abellana said. (The main cell, which is the bigger one, has an estimated capacity of about 200,000 metric tons.)

He said one cell has already been completed and currently accepts private waste.

PIWSI submits more DENR requirements

Abellana said PIWSI continues to coordinate with the DENR-EMB to secure the full lifting order.

The company recently completed the creation of a Multipartite Monitoring Team and held two meetings with the group before presenting its work to the EMB.

DENR inspectors also visited the facility the previous week and gave PIWSI five additional requirements, which the company planned to submit on Tuesday.

Abellana later identified the latest remedial measures as including the installation of gas vents, submission of certificates showing external treatment of collected leachate, geotechnical analysis and installation of a rain gauge.

He said PIWSI had complied with the requirements it received and now awaits the EMB’s decision.

But Abellana cautioned that full lifting could still come with operational limits.

“It could also be man gud na maingon sila na, ‘Okay, there’s full lifting, but you’re limited to such volume-volume per day,’” he said. (They could also say, “Okay, there’s full lifting, but you’re limited to a certain volume per day.”)

The final terms, he said, would depend on what the EMB authorizes.

Council reconsiders action against Binaliw operator

Andales had previously urged the city government to examine legal grounds for suspending or revoking PIWSI’s business permit, calling it unreasonable for the landfill to accept private waste while Cebu City could not use the facility.

The council had also considered whether the operator’s business permit could face sanctions over the situation.

Garganera said the latest executive session helped clarify that PIWSI did not reject Cebu City’s waste because of opposition from councilors.

“Hopefully, mao na ni last na sa ilang mga requirements, and we can be fully granted the full lifting order,” Abellana said. (Hopefully, these will be the last of their requirements, and we can be fully granted the full lifting order.)

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