Manila’s ex-trash collector: We didn’t abandon duty, we weren’t paid
MANILA, Philippines — The previous waste management contractor in the City of Manila has disputed allegations that it abandoned its duty to collect trash, maintaining that it informed the local government that it would no longer serve the city once the contract ended on December 31.
In a statement on Monday, Leonel Waste Management Corporation (Leonel) clarified that they met with Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna in September 2024 to tell her that they will not participate in the new contract bidding for the city’s trash collector, as the local government has failed to pay them for months.
“We are deeply concerned that news is circulating that we abandoned our duty with the City of Manila before our contract ended on December 31, 2024. We strongly refute this accusation, which grossly undermines the hard work and efforts of all our garbage collectors, who we thank deeply for their outstanding service,” Leonel said.
“Last September 2024, we met with Mayor Lacuna informing her that we will not participate in the 2025 bidding because of the City’s mounting unpaid obligations to Leonel, in order to give the City enough time to prepare and ensure a smooth transition to the new service provider,” it added.
According to the company, it instructed employees to continue working during the holiday season until the end of the contract period on December 31, even though Manila’s unpaid obligations had risen to P561.4 million.
Article continues after this advertisement“In fact, 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, especially in anticipation of the usual surge of garbage brought about by the holiday season,” Leonel said.
Article continues after this advertisement“Our company, Leonel, has always put our clients first and has never, nor will ever, abandon our duty of garbage collection. We have faithfully served our contract until December 31, 2024, despite the City of Manila’s total debt to our company amounting to PhP561,440,000,” it added.
Leonel’s clarification came after several Manila residents expressed frustration over the local government’s garbage collection problems, with piles of trash seen along the city’s streets after the New Year celebrations.
Several residents left reviews on Lacuna’s Facebook page or posted photos and videos showing garbage piling up along Manila’s streets, as collectors had not picked up the waste.
READ: Netizens fume over Manila’s uncollected post-holiday garbage
But in a Facebook post, Lacuna said that the problems stemmed from the past garbage collector, Leonel, adding that the local government is addressing these issues.
“Katulad po ng una nating sinabi, ang kapabayaan ng nakaraang garbage collector ay aayusin natin kung kaya’t dalawa na po ngayon ang humahakot ng basura sa lungsod: ang Metrowaste at PhilEco. Ang nagdaang Pasko at Bagong Taon ay nagdulot ng 400% na pagtaas ng basura sa Maynila na tila iniwanan na lamang bigla ng dating contractor,” she said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
(As we mentioned earlier, we will address the negligence of the previous garbage collector, which is why there are now two waste collectors in the city: Metrowaste and PhilEco. The Christmas and New Year holidays caused a 400 percent increase in waste in Manila, which seemed to have been abruptly left behind by the former contractor.)
“Dahil po dito, mariin kong iniutos ngayon sa ating mga bagong collectors ang tuloy-tuloy na paghakot ng basura—24/7 kung kinakailangan. Maglalagay rin po ang ating Department of Public Services at Task Force Against Road Obstruction ng hotlines para sa mga reklamo habang nasa transition period pa tayo. Makakaasa po kayong hindi ko palalampasin ang pananabotaheng ito at mananagot ang sinumang sangkot dito,” she added.
(Because of this, I have strongly instructed our new waste collectors to continue garbage collection—24/7 if necessary. The Department of Public Services and the Task Force Against Road Obstruction will also provide hotlines for complaints while we are still in the transition period. You can be assured that I will not let this sabotage slide, and those involved will be held accountable.)
The sabotage attempt that Lacuna was referring to was a supposed plan to create confusion and chaos within the city’s waste management system. In another post on her Facebook page, Lacuna said the city government will not tolerate any sabotage attempts, be it from inside or outside the city hall.
Currently, Manila is transitioning from the previous contractor to MetroWaste Solid Waste Management Corporation and Phil. Ecology Systems Corporation, which have been tapped to collect the city’s trash under a contract worth P842.7 million for 2025.
MetroWaste is the same trash collecting contractor dragged into allegedly problematic waste collection in Parañaque City during the 2022 holidays.
In February 2023, Parañaque resident Genaro Clemente, Jr. filed graft raps against several city officials including Mayor Eric Olivarez before the Office of the Ombudsman, for supposedly railroading a contract worth almost P415 million.
Olivarez awarded the contract to Metrowaste last December 27, 2022, 25 days after the Bids and Awards Committee published its call for bidding on the PhilGEPS website on December 2, 2022. Clemente, Jr. claimed that Metrowaste failed to acquire the necessary documentary requirements of the bid, which resulted in garbage piling up in the streets of Parañaque during the holidays
