DENR, SMC face heat over landfill fire

Amid the massive fire at the Navotas Sanitary Landfill, which blanketed Metro Manila in toxic smoke and exposed long-running disputes over the site’s takeover and closure, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has moved to tighten rules on landfill operations nationwide.

In a memorandum dated 22 April, DENR officer-in-charge Assistant Secretary and concurrent Environmental Management Bureau director Jacqueline A. Caancan ordered sanitary landfill operators to submit contingency plans covering fires, gas explosions, slope failures and other emergencies within 15 days.

The order came as the Navotas landfill fire burned for days, spread hazardous haze across Metro Manila and nearby provinces, and raised broader questions over regulatory oversight, landfill rehabilitation, and the transfer of environmental responsibilities following a court-backed expropriation involving San Miguel Aerocity Inc., a subsidiary of San Miguel Corp.

The DAILY TRIBUNE earlier reported in its three-part investigative series, “Landfill, land grab; burning questions,” that Phil. Ecology Systems Corp. (PhilEco) had managed the 40-hectare Category 4 landfill for nearly two decades without a recorded fire incident.

That record ended less than two months after SMAI took possession of the property through expropriation proceedings tied to infrastructure development for the New Manila International Airport project.

PhilEco alleged that it was forced out of the landfill site on 13 February 2026 after the Regional Trial Court of Navotas enforced a writ of possession in favor of SMAI.

Repeated warnings

The former operator said it had already begun implementing a DENR-approved Safe Closure and Rehabilitation Plan before losing access to the site.

According to PhilEco, the company repeatedly warned authorities, including the court, the DENR, and Navotas City officials, that disturbing the landfill for the planned cloverleaf interchange could trigger methane buildup, spontaneous combustion, leachate leaks, and long-term environmental damage.

Satellite data from the Philippine Space Agency later showed that 28.6 hectares, or more than 71 percent of the landfill, had been affected by the fire.

The DENR memorandum now requires landfill operators to submit plans detailing fire prevention and suppression systems, emergency response measures for slope failures and gas explosions, evacuation procedures, coordination with the Bureau of Fire Protection and local governments, and post-incident rehabilitation measures.

The EMB stressed that “preparedness is critical to minimizing risks to public health, property, and the environment, especially under extreme heat conditions.”

The Navotas landfill controversy also exposed unresolved questions over regulatory accountability after the transfer of possession.

PhilEco maintained that operational and environmental responsibility should attach to the entity that obtained ownership and control of the site.

“With the ownership lawfully transferred to SMAI, PhilEco is placed in a position of legal and factual impossibility to undertake engineering works on a property it no longer controls,” the company said in letters submitted to the DENR.

Smoldering

PhilEco later formally withdrew its Safe Closure and Rehabilitation Plan, arguing that closure work requiring unrestricted access could no longer be carried out after the takeover.

The DENR, meanwhile, said its regional offices have been directed to conduct regular inspections of disposal facilities, identify high-risk areas, verify the rehabilitation status of closed dumpsites, and provide technical assistance to local governments.

The agency emphasized that enforcing compliance with Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, remains part of its “core responsibility,” including auditing landfill operations and imposing penalties for violations.

As the landfill continues to smolder weeks after the fire was first declared under control, questions remain over whether warnings raised before the takeover were adequately addressed and who ultimately bears responsibility for the environmental fallout.