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Caecent Magsumbol - The Philippine Star
January 21, 2026 | 12:00am
Local authorities continue their search, rescue and retrieval operations at the Binaliw landfill on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026 after the deadly landslide buried several sanitation workers and killed 35.
BFP R7 Cebu City FS via Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — The collapse of a mountain of garbage at a landfill facility in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City has killed not only 36 workers, but also a rescuer who helped extract the victims under the rubble.
Ramon Singson, 50, security guard and volunteer rescuer from Toledo City, died days after serving in the search and retrieval operation.
Singson’s family said that a wound he suffered during the search and rescue operation got infected and led to septic shock. His remains now lie in Barangay DAS-Lutopan, with the burial set on Sunday.
“He was strong before he died. But the wound in his foot became infected,” Daniel Jason Olana, Singson’s nephew, said.
“He had joined many rescue missions, not only in Cebu but also in neighboring provinces and even in Luzon. Rescue work was his calling,” Olana added.
David Tumulak, chief of the city disaster risk reduction and management council, said that Singson’s death certificate listed septic shock from an infected wound as the cause of death, with Type 2 diabetes mellitus as a contributing condition.
For his family, Singson was more than a rescue worker.
“To the world, he was a brave volunteer. To us, he was a father, husband, mentor and leader,” Olana said. “He saved so many lives, now it’s time for him to rest.”
The search and rescue operation at the Binaliw landfill was dangerous.
Members of the search and rescue team including firefighters, police officers, soldiers and volunteers had to deal with hazardous terrain, tons of garbage, twisted tin roofs and metal, unstable ground and limited equipment.
Ten days after the tragedy, authorities said all 36 victims were accounted for, with the recovery of the last missing worker on Jan. 18.
However, relatives of one of the fatalities complained that only the lower portion of the victim’s body was recovered. They said they could not have closure until the upper body is found.
This prompted members of the Bureau of Fire Protection to continue the clearing operation to address the family’s concern. — The Freeman
