DILG to probe waste dumping at DENR-Davao

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June 10, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will investigate the dumping of garbage in front of the office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Davao City, Malacañang said yesterday.

The waste dumping came after Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte designated the facade of the DENR office as one of the waste collection point.

Duterte’s action was in response to a DENR order suspending the operation of the New Carmen Sanitary Landfill, where a trash slide killed two people and buried 15 houses last month.

“We have spoken to (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla today. There will be a thorough investigation on this,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said yesterday.

Castro said the DILG would determine if there was negligence or violation of environmental laws in the dumping of garbage.

“We do not want to preempt the action of Secretary Jonvic Remulla, but he gave assurance that he would order an investigation,” Castro said.

Duterte earlier said he wanted people at the DENR to know what would happen when an essential public service is halted indefinitely. He said the closure of the facility poses health risks to residents.

Castro urged local governments to consider the plight of their constituents and not their personal interests.

DENR employees loaded the pile of garbage into a truck and transported it to a waste processing area owned by a private company.

The Environmental Management Bureau, an attached agency of the DENR, said the waste dumping violated the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 and derailed efforts being undertaken by the EMB to ensure safety at the New Carmen Sanitary Landfill.

The law prohibits littering and illegal waste dumping, and imposes fines or imprisonment or both on violators.

“Dumping trash in front of government offices is not only unlawful. It undermines the principles of ecological solid waste management,” EMB chief Michael Drake Matias said.