By Marita Moaje
MANILA – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is coordinating with the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for possible legal action against landfill operators as the agency intensifies efforts to control the Navotas landfill fire.
In an interview during the opening of the ASEAN Climate Week 2026 in Taguig City on Monday, Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the DENR is mobilizing technical experts to address the ongoing fire that has also caused unhealthy air quality in parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby Bulacan province.
“As of yesterday, the air quality in NCR is mostly fair to good except for Valenzuela, a little above the National Guideline values of 35 micrograms per normal cubic meter, about 41, 42, I was told,” he said.
The National Ambient Air Quality Guideline Values (NAAQGV) in the Philippines, managed by the DENR, establish legally enforceable limits for pollutants to protect public health, according to the agency’s Air Quality Management Section.
The DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) oversees and monitors compliance with the standards set forth in Republic Act No. 8749, or the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999.
Cuna noted that nearby parts of Bulacan province have very high, or about 50 micrograms per normal cubic meter (µg/Ncu.m) of Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5, meaning the air quality is not good, particularly for sensitive groups.
“So, the elderly and the children are advised to either stay indoors or to continue to use masks in the area,” he said.
He said government agencies are focused on suppressing the fire at the 41-hectare Navotas landfill site, which continues to generate smoke affecting air quality in nearby areas.
Meanwhile, Cuna confirmed that the OSG has begun gathering and reviewing documents as part of the government’s preparation for possible enforcement actions against those responsible for the landfill’s operations.
The EMB earlier identified the former operator of the Navotas sanitary landfill as the Philippine Ecology Systems Corp. (PhilEco).
“The Solicitor General’s Office, (with) whom we are coordinating with for possible actions to be filed have already requested for documents and certified true copies of certain documents so the submissions are being done as we speak and we will be meeting with the OSG lawyers again soon, most likely within the week and we will be able to determine moving forward what legal remedies are available,” Cuna said.
Meanwhile, Cuna said the DENR has activated technical support from both local and international partners, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), to strengthen firefighting and waste facility management strategies.
EMB OIC Assistant Secretary Jacqueline Caancan, in a memorandum dated April 22, has instructed all regional directors to require sanitary landfill (SLF) operators to submit contingency plans to address fire incidents and other emergencies in waste disposal facilities within 15 days of receipt.
The DENR has also reminded local government units (LGUs) to immediately cease operations of open and controlled dumpsites to protect nearby communities.
Cuna, meanwhile, said the incident has also prompted a review of the country’s firefighting preparedness for large-scale environmental fires.
“We actually sat down with the Bureau of Fire Protection last week, and we were discussing how we can strengthen our capabilities, I mean not just them but also us, because training for fires has in the past been mostly focused on urban fires,” he said.
“But as far as grass fires, forest fires, and even waste disposal facility fires are concerned, we’re sorely lacking in terms of capacity, and we’re already speaking to some possible partners who will be able to provide us with the capacity building that is sorely needed,” he added. (PNA)
