Tieza: No need to close Bohol landfill for now

The municipal government of Alburquerque in Bohol wants to close this landfill used by the capital city of Tagbilaran and 17 towns because of costly operation and little income from tipping fees. —ALBURQUERQUE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OFFICE

TAGBILARAN CITY—The closure of a sanitary landfill that receives garbage from 17 Bohol towns and the capital city of Bohol will not push through.

Noel Yambao, project monitoring division manager of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza), said there was no need to close the Alburquerque Cluster Sanitary Landfill (ACSLF) in Alburquerque town, contrary to what was reported by the local government.

“There is no problem with the landfill. It just lacks maintenance and proper management. There’s no need to close it,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to Yambao, a high-density polyethylene liner system that surrounds the landfill prevents leachate infiltration into the groundwater.

ACSLF is owned by Tieza and run by the local government of Alburquerque.

Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado said that the provincial government’s inspection confirmed that the ACSLF was working properly and should not be shut down.

Aumentado asked Alburquerque Mayor Don Ritchie Buates to refrain from closing the facility, as this would disrupt garbage disposal in Tagbilaran City and the towns of Alburquerque, Antequera, Baclayon, Balilihan, Calape, Catigbian, Corella, Cortes, Dauis, Dimiao, Lila, Loay, Loboc, Loon, Maribojoc, Panglao and Sikatuna.

Lacking trucks, heavy equipment

Buates earlier said the local government could not catch up with the excessive volume of garbage thrown in the landfill every day since they only have a backhoe and a dump truck.

About 25 truckloads, or 15.7 tons, of trash, are dumped on the site every day. It also receives waste from Panglao, the tourism jewel of the province.

ACSL earned P4 million in 2024 from tipping fees, but, according to Buates, it was not enough to buy another backhoe worth P9 million.

Buates said he had asked the town council to consider crafting a measure that would increase the tipping fee from P1,500 to P5,000 per ton of waste thrown at the landfill to sustain operations.

Buates said he asked Tieza for help several times but claimed that his plea was ignored.

Key issues hounding the landfill include the sustainability of maintenance operations, optimal operation of the leachate treatment pond, and a shortage of personnel and equipment.

ACSL became operational in 2017 after the Tieza, formerly known as the Philippine Tourism Authority, and the local government of Alburquerque signed an agreement for the use of the facility.

The project was funded by Tieza, which spent P300 million for the construction and development of the landfill.