The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) may lift the suspension of a Davao City sanitary landfill as early as next week if the local government complies with safety requirements imposed after a deadly trash slide that killed two people and injured several others.

DENR Assistant Secretary for Legal and Enforcement Norlito Eneran said the suspension was ordered following the trash slide at the landfill, which serves about 89 percent of Davao City's communities.

“Yes, that is correct. The waste was temporarily placed outside the compound of the DENR Region 11 office,” Eneran said, referring to social media posts showing garbage near the agency’s Davao office. He added that the area is now being cleaned.

Eneran said both the DENR and the local government were frustrated by the incident, which prompted the agency to suspend landfill operations under Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

“The landfill was suspended to allow rehabilitation and slope stabilization. We saw the possibility that it could fail again in the future, so this is a preventive measure to protect the public,” he said.

Before imposing the suspension, the DENR issued notices of violation and conducted technical conferences with local officials to discuss temporary solutions. The agency identified sanitary landfills in Panabo City and Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, as alternative disposal sites for Davao City's residual waste.

Eneran said the DENR also urged the city to strengthen the operation of materials recovery facilities in barangays to reduce the volume of waste being sent to landfills, in line with the requirements of RA 9003.

He said the agency had assessed the capacity of the alternative disposal sites and continues to identify additional locations that could temporarily receive Davao City's waste. The DENR also proposed the establishment of transfer areas where garbage could be collected if existing alternative landfills become insufficient.

According to Eneran, the suspension could be lifted next week if the city fulfills the conditions outlined in the suspension order, particularly measures ensuring the landfill's structural safety and the protection of nearby residents.

“We are just making sure the landfill is safe. It would be difficult to allow dumping again if it could cause destruction in the community and take more lives,” he said.

He added that the Davao City government has already filed a motion for reconsideration and committed to complying with the DENR's requirements.

“Once we are assured that this sanitary landfill is safe, then we can lift the suspension,” Eneran said.