Marcos on Navotas landfill fire: 'It's over, it won't happen again'

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday assured that the government will exert efforts so that the massive month-long fire that hit the Navotas sanitary landfill recently will not happen again.

Marcos made the commitment to residents of Obando, Bulacan—one of the areas affected by the thick smoke from the burning sanitary landfill—when he visited the municipality for the “Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” event.

During the event, the President was informed that one individual who evacuated due to the fire died after reportedly experiencing breathing difficulties.

“Ay naku. Hindi bale. Mula ngayon talagang babantayan na natin ‘yung mga ganyang klase,” Marcos said.

(Oh my, but never mind. From now on, we'll really watch out for those kinds of events.)

“Wala tayong magagawa dahil alam naman ninyo ‘pag tag-araw, talagang napaka-init… Lumiliyab pala nang mag-isa ‘yan eh. Walang nagsindi. Basta’t lumiliyab na lang mag-isa. Kaya ganyan po ang nangyari,” he added.

(There’s nothing we can do because you know, when it’s summer, it’s really hot… The landfill just caught fire on its own. No one lit it. It just kept burning on its own. That’s what happened.)

The President also expressed hope that everyone in the area is in better condition now that the Navotas landfill fire has been extinguished.

He also pointed out that smoke from burning plastic waste poses a danger to nearby communities.

“Sana ay nasa mabuti na kayong kalagayan. Tapos na, patay na ‘yung apoy, at hindi na mauulit. Kaya good luck po sa inyong lahat,” he said.

(I hope you are all well. It's over, the fire is out, and it won't happen again. So good luck to all of you.)

The fire broke out at the non-operational Navotas Sanitary Landfill in Barangay Tanza on April 10. A month later, Marcos announced that the fire had finally been extinguished. —RF, GMA News