3 waste workers missing as landfill collapses in Rizal

Search and retrieval operations are ongoing at the Rizal Provincial Sanitary Landfill in Rodriguez town following its partial collapse on Friday, with local authorities confirming three persons missing as environmental regulators move to enforce stabilization and safety measures at the site.

A "24 Oras Weekend" report of Athena Imperial showed an amateur video clip of the scene just moments after large volumes of waste gave way, sparking fears that people may have been buried.

“Nagulat lang din ako, biglang may mga daming nasigaw eh. Ayan, mga tao, nasa baba na,” a person who recorded video of the incident was heard saying.

(I was also surprised—suddenly, so many people were shouting. I can see there are people who have fallen below.)

“Nakikita namin mula sa aming pwesto na nag-aakyatan ang mga tao (From where we are, we could see people scrambling to climb up.)

According to lawyer Mark Delos Reyes, spokesperson and legal representative of International Solid Waste Integrated Management Specialist Inc. (ISWIMS), the facility’s owner and operator, the collapse occurred around 3 p.m. Friday in Phase 5 of the landfill.

He confirmed that three bulldozers were caught in the slide along with the collapsing waste mass.

The heavy equipment have since been retrieved and is undergoing repairs, while the operators were treated after sustaining minor injuries.

Delos Reyes, however, declined to confirm earlier reports on the actual number of missing persons.

“Wala pa pong kompirmasyon sa site po kasi mahirap lang pong magbigay ng numero ngayon. Baka sakali eh lumabas po sa aming imbestigasyon na iba naman po ang numero na lumabas.

(There is still no confirmation at the site because it is difficult to provide figures at this time. It is possible that our investigation may yield a different number.)

He, however, confirmed that the collapse was due to the weight of the heavy equipment on top of the mound of trash.

"Dahil po sa bigat po ng aming bulldozer, medyo gumuho po ang mga siksik na basura (Because of the weight of our bulldozer, the compacted waste gave way)," he said.

Landfill management said no consolidated official report has yet been finalized as ground validation is ongoing.

Police, too, said they could not immediately validate reports of missing persons.

“Hindi pa ho natin ma-confirm dahil wala pa ho tayong pangalan,” said Police Lt. Col. Arwin Gaffud, Rodriguez chief of police. 

“At the same time, wala pa ho tayong official report na maibibigay. Considering na wala pa rin pong maibigay na report ang management, sila po ang magko-confirm kung talagang may nangyari, may mga biktima ho talagang nasama doon sa basura,” he said.

(At the same time, we do not yet have an official report to release, considering that management has not provided a report—they will confirm whether an incident truly occurred and whether there were victims who were caught in the garbage.)

Despite the collapse, garbage trucks continue to enter and exit the facility, and operations remain ongoing while search, retrieval, and environmental assessment efforts proceed.

In a statement, the local government of Rodriguez, through its disaster and environment offices, reported that initial investigation indicated three individuals were missing.

“Our concerned offices are continuously working with the private operator of the landfill, ISWIMS, in monitoring the situation to discover the whereabouts of such persons and adequately address the situation,” it said.

It also called on national authorities to investigate the incident.

In a separate statement, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) in Calabarzon said it is closely monitoring what it described as a “trashslide” at the landfill site.

The regional office said it conducted an on-site inspection and ordered the immediate implementation of "stabilization measures" following the Feb. 20 incident at the facility operated by Green Leap Solid Waste Management, Inc..

Personnel were deployed to assess erosion in the affected area and verify reports of missing individuals, while the operator was directed to carry out leveling and sloping of the eroded portion to prevent further instability, the DENR-EMB said.

To ensure compliance with environmental and safety standards, it required the company to:

• Submit a detailed action plan and daily status reports on retrieval and rehabilitation efforts;
• Conduct waste compaction and daily soil covering;
• Control heavy equipment movement and restrict access to high-risk zones;
• Implement slope stabilization and maintain regular site inspections.

Authorities said a technical conference will be held with the landfill operator to discuss the incident and review compliance with Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) conditions.

A Notice of Violation may be issued for any confirmed non-compliance based on the results of the investigation, the agency said.—MCG, GMA Integrated News