DENR-EMB mulls raps vs ex-operator of Navotas landfill

After a massive rubbish fire that covered parts of Metro Manila in smog, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)’s Environmental Management Bureau in the National Capital Region (EMB-NCR) is considering the filing of criminal, administrative, and civil charges against Philippine Ecology Systems Corp. (PhilEco), the former operator of the Navotas Sanitary Landfill.

In an exclusive interview with GMA News on Monday, EMB-NCR officer-in-charge regional director Atty. Janice Pammit said they already summoned PhilEco to a technical meeting on April 16, Thursday.

“We are considering, we’re studying all the legal remedies that we may file against the operator of the Navotas Sanitary Landfill,” Pammit said.

The EMB-NCR official said PhilEco allegedly failed to complete its Safe Closure and Rehabilitation Plan (SCRP) when it exited the facility in February 2026, two months after its permit expired in December 2025.

Landfill operators are required to cover waste with soil, establish vegetation, and install gas ventilation pipes to prevent the buildup of methane gas, which can lead to spontaneous combustion.

This is mandated under Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 and DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2006-09 or the Guidelines for the Closure and Rehabilitation of Open Dumps and Controlled Dump Facilities.

Pammit noted that while PhilEco applied a soil cover, it only accounted for a small fraction of the 41-hectare site.

She said the fire last Friday could have been avoided had the closure plan been executed properly.

“Actually, hindi pa lahat ang natabunan. Nag-back out and abandoned sila kasi nag-pull out sila ng mga equipment doon sa site. Under RA 9003, they have one year to implement the safe closure plan,” Pammit said.

(Actually, not all was covered up. They backed out and abandoned it because they already pulled out their equipment from the site. Under RA 9003, they have one year to implement the safe closure plan.)

During a recent site inspection, the EMB-NCR team observed that some gas ventilation pipes previously present at the site are missing, leading investigators to question if the equipment was pulled out during the company’s exit.

Officials also found that the facility’s water treatment plant was not functioning.

“We’re also checking kung ‘yun nga po sa results nung if there will be violations ng Clean Water Act, then meron po administrative, possible din po na criminal if there will be a gross violation under the Clean Water Act. For violators as under PD 1586, ‘yun po sa ating Environmental Impact Statement System, administrative po ‘yan. For RA 9003, in relation po doon sa kanilang ECC, but this one should be filed in court, so meron po ‘yang criminal aspect or civil aspect,” Pammit explained.

(We’re also checking the results if there will be violations of the Clean Water Act, then there are administrative, possible criminal charges if there will be a gross violation under the Clean Water Act. For violators as under PD 1586 or the Environmental Impact Statement System, that’s administrative. For RA 9003, in relation to their ECC, but this one should be filed in court, so there’s a criminal aspect or civil aspect.)

She said the EMB-NCR is now requesting a meeting with the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to find out what else can be done.

The EMB-NCR also alleged that PhilEco has a history of non-compliance, with prior records of administrative violations during its years of operation.

“May mga administrative violations na sila. Sa non-submission ng compliance monitoring reports, self-monitoring reports, discharge permit violations,” Pammit said.

(They have administrative violations, like non-submission of compliance monitoring, self-monitoring reports, discharge permit violations.)

In a statement sent to GMA News, PhilEco said it no longer controlled the landfill facility since February 13, 2026.

It maintained that in its 20 years of operations, “there was not a single fire-related incident at the facility.”

PhilEco alleged that San Miguel Aerocity Inc. (SMAI), the subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation tasked with building the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan, “drove out” their personnel and equipment after an expropriation order and a notice to vacate implemented by a court sheriff.

GMA News has reached out to SMAI for comment on PhilEco’s claims and will post it once available.

“PHILECO ceased to have access to, control over, or authority within the premises. But before the transfer of such authority, PHILECO had already started implementing the DENR-approved Safe Closure and Rehabilitation Plan – Phase I, which SAN MIGUEL and the CITY OF NAVOTAS were aware of,” the company said.

PhilEco said it warned the Navotas City Regional Trial Court and the DENR that SMAI’s plan to build a cloverleaf interchange directly above the landfill might lead to environmental disasters.

“PHILECO repeatedly argued, before the Navotas Regional Trial Court, the Navotas City Government, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, that the intended construction by SAN MIGUEL of A CLOVERLEAF INTERCHANGE above the landfill – as disclosed by SAN MIGUEL during the expropriation proceedings – would result in considerable environmental risks and disaster, including FIRE, and methane and leachate leakage. In fact, the DENR Safe Closure Guidelines specifically prohibit the construction on top of a Category 4 Landfill for at least 30 years. Unfortunately, these warnings were not heeded by SAN MIGUEL nor the court,” PhilEco added.

Meanwhile, a task force was established on Monday to prevent further outbreaks at the landfill and to coordinate on-site operations.

The EMB-NCR said the unfinished safe closure and rehabilitation plan for the Navotas sanitary landfill is now slated for completion, although the budget for this remains undetermined. — JMA, GMA News