Rescuers have continued searching for 34 individuals trapped in a collapsed staff house and office at a private landfill facility in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City.
At least 13 employees have been rescued, while one was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
A survivor identified as 42-year-old Dominic Baliguat went emotional while watching the ongoing rescue operation at the collapsed edifice on Friday, January 9, 2026.
Baliguat said the incident happened a few minutes after he went out of the warehouse.
A mountain of garbage slid past 4 p.m. on January 8 that led to the collapse of the structure, pinning several workers under the rubble.
Baliguat said that his close friends are among workers still trapped in the wreck, as of this writing.
He said there were no earlier signs of the mountain of garbage slipping and creating massive damage similar to a landslide. He added that the mountain of garbage is about 200 meters away from their office.
The workers’ respective families continue to hope for the safe extrication of those who are still being located.
Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival met the families of affected workers, along with Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7 Director Shalaine Lucero for urgent assistance.
Archival clarified that there are 34 missing workers, not 38 which was reported earlier.
One was pronounced dead while 13 were rescued, as of 11:30 a.m. on Friday, January 9, 2026.
In a discussion with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the compounded effects of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Northern Cebu on September 30, 2025; the unprecedented amount of rainfall dumped by Typhoon Tino on November 4, and the effects of the shear line are believed to have caused the landslide.
Prime Waste Solutions, the private firm that operates the landfill facility, in an official statement, said that they coordinated immediately with the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Cebu City and various government agencies to facilitate a rescue operation.
The company has vowed to attend to the needs of affected employees.
As facility operation is suspended, Mayor Nestor Archival has looked for other possible areas for the disposal of city garbage, two of which are the Municipalities of Consolacion and Minglanilla. The Cebu City LGU is awaiting permission from the DENR and the two LGUs.
In addition, the mayor mulls on placing the city, or Barangay Binaliw particularly, under a state of calamity.
Further, the Cebu Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) has joined in the search and rescue operation.
The sending of a team from PDRRMO to ground zero in Barangay Binaliw is based on an order of Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro, according to Retired Colonel Francis Dennis Pastor, head of PDRRMO.
Pastor said that Baricuatro expressed worry over the situation of workers trapped in the rubble, and their families waiting for news of their extrication.
It was learned that several workers at the landfill facility are from the Municipality of Consolacion in the Province of Cebu.
Furthermore, a new PDRRM office has opened in Barangay Apas, Cebu City. It has a state-of-the-art equipment such as its monitoring center with a giant LED wall that has a zoom-in capacity or magnification of about 32 times.
Barangay Binaliw is clearly visible from its location in Barangay Apas.
(with Alan Domingo/GMA Regional TV Balitang Bisdak)
