INDIVIDUALS displaced by the trash slide at the Davao City Sanitary Landfill in Barangay New Carmen have already been shortlisted for aid by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) XI.
Consecutive heavy rains in recent days triggered the collapse of a section of the sanitary landfill, forcing residents to evacuate.
During a reach-out activity on May 25, 22 individuals who are not from Davao City were among the affected families currently sheltering at the barangay’s evacuation gym
Those profiled individuals included two families from Arakan, Cotabato; one individual from Agusan del Sur; one family from Mati City, Davao Oriental; and one individual from Panabo City, Davao del Norte.
The profiled individuals and families are currently under the temporary care of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) while the agency prepares necessary documents for the facilitation of their safe and orderly reintegration into their home communities.
The Pag-abot Program is also assessing whether the affected families have additional needs upon reintegration.
DSWD XI said the profiled may be eligible for livelihood assistance, financial assistance, or shelter assistance, depending on the findings and subject to the program’s existing guidelines.
Councilor Temujin Ocampo, during a Pulong Pulong sa Dabawenyos interview, reiterated that building houses in the sanitary landfill is prohibited.
“Bawal man gyud na diha from the very start; ang problema lang man gud usahay, ang mga tao sila man gud ang moadto didto,” Ocampo said.
Davao City families affected by the incident are being assessed for the necessary assistance from the local government, which includes free housing, among others.
“We will only extend assistance to the residents in Davao nga naa dihang dapita nga pahawaon nagyud sila diha og pangitaan silag lugar nga safe kapuy-an,” he stressed.
In an earlier interview with Lakandiwa Orcullo, chief of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Division of CENRO, waste pickers chose to build their houses near the sanitary landfill as their source of income depends on the trash they retrieve.
Ideally, only residuals should be thrown at the landfill; however, due to the lack of a materials recovery facility in some barangays, recyclables and even reusable items end up at the dumpsite.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources XI has ordered the immediate suspension of waste disposal at the New Carmen Sanitary Landfill following a deadly collapse that claimed one life and left two individuals missing.
On the other hand, the local government has temporarily suspended the utilization of the landfill effective May 22, 2026, in compliance with the DENR order.
The city filed a motion for reconsideration with DENR XI on Tuesday, May 26, citing the results of geotechnical assessments conducted at the site and the recommended corrective measures at the existing landfill facility.
The six-day search ended on Tuesday afternoon, May 26, after the body of a 78-year-old woman was retrieved from a trash slide.
Authorities identified the victim as Luisa, a resident of Purok 8, Barangay New Carmen. The retrieval operation continues to recover one remaining senior believed to be buried in the landfill.
