The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued a cease-and-desist order Tuesday to Green Leap Solid Waste Management Inc. following a massive trash slide that left one worker dead and two others missing.

The Environmental Management Bureau of CALABARZON ordered the immediate suspension of operations at the company’s six-hectare sanitary landfill in Barangay San Isidro, Rizal.

Investigations revealed that approximately 420,000 cubic meters of waste were displaced during the erosion. Regional executive director Nilo Tamoria said the landfill violated multiple provisions of its Environmental Compliance Certificate.

The order specifically targets Phase 5 of the facility, where the collapse occurred. Authorities have enforced a “no-entry” policy to ensure the safety of rescue and rehabilitation teams.

“Our priority is to ensure the immediate stabilization of the site to prevent further environmental degradation and to hold the proponent strictly accountable for these operational lapses,” Tamoria said.

Initial reports from urban poor groups suggested as many as 100 waste workers were missing, but the Rodriguez municipal government and the International Solid Waste Integrated Management Specialist Inc. later clarified that only three workers were unaccounted for. One has since been confirmed dead.

The local government said it has been coordinating with the private operator since Sunday to locate the remaining two missing workers.

Green Leap has been ordered to submit a detailed report on its corrective actions. The company is scheduled to face a technical conference with environmental officials at 10 a.m. on 25 February.