Garbage piles remain uncollected in Manila

Uncollected piles of garbage were still visible in the City of Manila, particularly along Recto Avenue and Blumentritt Road, as of Tuesday, according to Mark Salazar’s report on 24 Oras.

The Manila city government alleged that the uncollected garbage was due to Leonel Waste Management Corporation's failure to fulfill its service obligations on the last day of its contract.

“We are currently validating all these reports sent to us na noong [December] 31, which is the last day ng Leonel, meron silang initial na ginawang trash collection pero hindi tinapos,” said Manila local government spokesperson Atty. Princess Abante.

(We are validating reports that on December 31, the last day of Leonel Waste Management's contract, they started collecting trash but did not finish.)

“Example, if ang collection sa barangay is dalawang beses, isang beses na lang sila nagkolekta… Kaya pagpasok ng January 1, nagulat talaga lahat na maraming tambak na basura,” Abante added.

(For example, if garbage in a barangay was supposed to be collected twice that day, it was collected only once. As a result, when January 1 came, everyone was surprised by the garbage pile-up.)

Leonel Waste Management responds

Leonel Waste Management denied the accusations, stating that they had instructed their staff to continue providing services until the contract's end.

“We strongly refute this accusation… Last December 23, 2024, when we announced to our employees that our contract of service is ending on December 31, 2024, we mandated them to continue doing our usual services until the end of our contract,” said the company.

Leonel also claimed that the Manila government owed them P561.44 million, which influenced their decision not to participate in the bidding for a 2025 waste management contract.

However, the Manila LGU refuted the claim, asserting that the company provided a different reason for not bidding.

“Yung dahilan nila na hindi na sila nag-bid sa 2025 contract due to alleged unpaid obligation of P561.4 million is false. Unang-una, hindi iyan ang binigay nilang dahilan noong nagsabi sila kay Mayor na hindi na sila magpa-participate. The reason they gave was personal in nature, not contractual in nature,” said Abante.

(Their claim that they did not bid for the 2025 contract due to an alleged unpaid obligation is false. That was not the reason they gave the mayor. Their reason was personal, not contractual.)

New contractors

Abante said that two companies, MetroWaste and PhilEco, have been contracted to replace Leonel Waste Management.

“For today, meron pang iilang areas but the mayor has already made a pronouncement na dapat si MetroWaste at si PhilEco, matapos nila ang hauling of all backlog collection by Friday,” she added.

(As of today, a few areas still have uncollected garbage. However, the mayor announced that MetroWaste and PhilEco must finish hauling all backlog garbage by Friday.)

Earlier, Mayor Honey Lacuna explained that a new service provider was tasked with addressing the garbage backlog following the New Year celebrations, which generated four times the usual amount of trash.

“Ako na po ang humihingi ng paumanhin sa naganap na problema sa ating basura. Sa atin pong mga kababayan, sisikapin po namin sa linggong ito ay matatapos po natin lahat ng paghahakot natin sa ating mga natirang basura at babalik na po tayo sa ating regular na paghahakot,” Lacuna said.

(I apologize for the garbage problem. To my constituents, we will work hard this week to finish collecting the remaining trash and resume regular collection.)

Lacuna also noted that the new garbage collectors prioritized businesses affected by the waste problem and advised residents to visit health centers if they became ill.

The city government is currently studying the potential liability for the uncollected garbage.

Meanwhile, the Manila City Hall assured residents that a garbage collection system was in place for the upcoming Traslacion 2025 and that the event would not contribute to the ongoing waste problem. — Sherylin Untalan/DVM, GMA Integrated News