Retrieval operations being done Thursday, January 8, 2026, at the landfill in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City, which collapsed at around 5 p.m., trapping several individuals. | CDN Digital file photo / Pia Piquero
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — Weeks of periodic rain and poor engineering of waste piles may have caused the Binaliw landfill landslide, according to a report by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Central Visayas (MGB-7).
The findings came after a site inspection by the MGB-7, an agency under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), on Friday, January 9, following the collapse of the sanitary landfill facility in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City.
Investigators reported how the landfill sat on sloping ground, with large piles of garbage placed above lower areas, which can increase pressure and make the ground unstable.
According to a consultant of landfill operator Prime Waste Solutions Cebu, the landfill had reached about 35 meters in height—with trash stacked in layers and flat steps, called benches, placed every six meters to support the pile.