It caused the emission of toxins and affected multiple cities around the region.
Lats Sunday, May 10, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the fire at the Navotas Sanitary Landfill had been extinguished, close month after it started.
“Tuluyan nang naapula ang sunog sa Navotas landfill,” President Marcos said in a social media post.
Putting out the fire took multi-sectoral collaboration, as government agencies partnered with the private sector.
According to the President, firefighters, local government units, environmental teams, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Department of Tourism (DOT), and private firms, including San Miguel Corporation, Prime Infrastructure, and SM Prime, worked together in recent weeks to prevent the situation from escalating and to ensure the safety of nearby residents.
He also extended his gratitude to the Japanese government for its support and technical assistance.
While the fire has been contained, the President emphasized that response efforts will continue, with Marcos directing relevant agencies to sustain round-the-clock monitoring of the area.
These include the conduct of air and water quality testing, thermal scanning to ensure there are no remaining hotspots, and health monitoring for affected residents and responders.
“Ang pinakamahalaga ngayon ay masigurong ligtas ang ating mga kababayan at tuluyang makabalik sa normal ang mga komunidad sa paligid ng Navotas,” he told.
Meanwhile, for his agency’s part, Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said, “Sa mga ganitong problema, napapadali ang solusyon kung lahat po—ang pamahalaang nasyunal, kasama na rin ang lokal na pamahalaan ay may inisyatibo at magtutulungan. Ito po’y talagang magandang ehemplo ng whole-of-government approach.”
Land and debris from the Metro Manila Subway Project were provided by the DOTr to contain the fire at the landfill.
Lopez joined the inspection at the Navotas Landfill with Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon at Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna on Monday.
Dizon noted the collaboration between the public and private sectors.
“Sabi nga po ng Pangulo na nagtulong-tulong po lahat, para talagang maapula natin ng mabilis itong napakalaking sunog na nangyari. At kita nyo naman ngayon, klaro na, wala ng usok. Dati hindi natin makita yung Obando, ngayon nakikita na natin ang Valenzuela. Kaya nagpapasalamat po tayong lahat. On behalf of the President, we just want to thank everybody,” said Dizon.
Meanwhile, Cuna assured that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will continue its work on the site. “We’ll continue to monitor the landfill dahil yung rehabilitation po kailangan ituloy po yan. At yung air quality we’ll continue to monitor. For the last week, maganda na po ang readings hanggang sa may Obando.”
Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya, who was also at the inspection, expressed, “I am very happy to hear that the technical assistance provided by Japan—the relief team and experts have been very useful. Kasama niyo kami. Japan hopes to remain a valuable partner to stand by the Philippines.”
The private sector also provided free diesel 5,000 tons of land and debris per barge and heavy equipment to put out the fire that lingered for a month.
“Lahat tayo nagtulong-tulong dito para masolve itong problemang ito kasi grabeng calamity ito di ba. Napansin niyo ang bilis na-solve ‘yung problema kasi lahat tayo nagtulong-tulong,” said San Miguel Corporation Chairman and CEO Ramon Ang, who also personally made a visit to the site.
Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Nicolas Torre III were also at the former landfill.
According to reports, the fire was caused by methane gas accumulated from decomposing waste, which ignited after being exposed to uncovered waste surfaces.
The DENR earlier reported that the fire affected the air quality in Navotas, Valenzuela, Malabon, Caloocan, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Manila.