Navotas landfill blaze 80% contained

The massive fire at a Navotas sanitary landfill is now 80 percent contained after burning for weeks, but local officials say they are already preparing a legal case against the operator for alleged negligence.

Navotas Mayor John Rey Tiangco disclosed Wednesday that preliminary assessments point to lapses in safety and rehabilitation standards.

“Definitely, someone must be held accountable because this would not have happened without negligence,” Tiangco said. He noted the city is coordinating with the Office of the Solicitor General to document the incident for a potential lawsuit.

The mayor cited concerns over the operator’s implementation of the Safe Closure and Rehabilitation Plan required by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

He suggested that a failure to follow these long-term safeguards likely allowed subsurface fires to develop across the 44-hectare site.

The fire has significantly impacted regional health, with the Environmental Management Bureau recording “acutely unhealthy” air quality levels across parts of Metro Manila.

Containment efforts have drawn international support. Following a request from the Department of National Defense, experts from the US Forest Service and the Japan International Cooperation Agency have arrived to provide technical assistance.

While open flames have largely been suppressed, Tiangco warned that the operation is far from over. About 200 personnel are deployed daily to manage underground hotspots and shifting winds that threaten to reignite buried waste.

“Even if the fire and smoke are nearly gone, it doesn’t end there,” Tiangco said.

Authorities said the disaster highlights a nationwide need for stricter landfill governance and better disaster preparedness. Officials added that the lessons learned in Navotas will be used to assess risks at other landfill sites in Metro Manila and nearby Rizal province.