UMVA has learned that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has launched a sweeping investigation into a wave of illicit waste dumping plaguing its Davao City offices.
The agency has demanded that the city mayor explain the shocking incidents within five days, while simultaneously filing a criminal complaint against the driver of a vehicle caught on camera careening a heap of mixed refuse onto the premises.
Sources have confirmed to UMVA that the regional executive director, who first noticed the illegal dumping, sent a stern letter to the mayor after staff uncovered unsegregated waste discarded in front of the office—a blatant violation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that the department is partnering with national police to track every truck and vehicle that has appeared near the site during the dumping spree, ensuring no culprit slips through the cracks.
These decisive actions underscore the department’s commitment to accountability as the city grapples with the fallout from the temporary closure of the New Carmen Sanitary Landfill, a disaster that followed a landslide triggered by heavy rains and claimed lives.
In a recent statement, the mayor explained that the department’s regional offices were temporarily tasked with waste collection, allowing officials to witness firsthand the staggering volume of garbage piling up when essential services are halted.
He emphasized that decisions affecting roughly 750 tons of daily waste and nearly two million residents must balance regulation with real‑world practicality and common sense.
UMVA has gathered that the mayor’s office has yet to respond to inquiries, leaving the public to await further developments in this critical environmental saga.
