The Magna Carta for Waste Workers must be passed now, before another tragedy claims more lives.
By Shan Kenshin Ecaldre
Bulatlat.com
Cebu City — The deadly landslide at the Binaliw landfill and materials recovery facility (MRF) in Cebu City has renewed calls to pass the proposed Magna Carta for Waste Workers.
Labor, environmental groups, and progressive lawmakers said that the absence of legal protection continues to place waste workers’ lives in danger.
On January 8, a massive landslide at the Binaliw landfill and materials recovery facility (MRF) in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City, buried workers under tons of garbage. The disaster claimed at least six lives and left 12 injured, with dozens still missing as search and retrieval operations continue.
Most of the victims are informal waste workers whose contribution to urban recycling and waste management remains unprotected and unrecognized under existing labor and safety regulations.
Neglect
Advocates stressed that the tragedy was not an isolated incident but the result of long-standing neglect and weak enforcement of labor and environmental laws.
“This tragedy did not happen overnight,” said Anecita “Aning” Abadijas, president of Cebu Inayawan Resource Collectors Association (CiRCA).
According to Abadijas, workers warned of the dangerous buildup and instability of waste at the landfill but their reports were ignored. “Because waste workers lack legal protection and voice, their warnings were dismissed.”
The Philippine Earth Justice Center (PEJC) echoed this assessment, saying that when environmental and labor regulations are weakly enforced, the poor and marginalized suffer the gravest consequences. PEJC Managing Trustee Atty. John Menguito called for a thorough and independent investigation into the incident and immediate support for affected families.
Magna Carta as protection
Progressive lawmakers said that the incident highlights the urgency of passing House Bill No. 6413 or the Magna Carta for Waste Workers filed by the Makabayan bloc.
Assistant Minority Leader and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Atty. Renee Co said that waste workers remain among the most vulnerable sectors because they are excluded from comprehensive legal protection. “Their vulnerability is not accidental. It is the result of the state’s failure to recognize and protect them.”
The proposed Magna Carta seeks to institutionalize occupational safety and health standards, hazard pay, access to social protection, medical assistance, and compensation for waste workers, including those in the informal sector. Sections 13 and 15 of the bill mandate the state to ensure safe working conditions and provide protective equipment and support, measures advocates say could have prevented or at least mitigated the loss of life in Binaliw.
Workers’ warnings ignored
Environmental group EcoWaste Coalition said that the tragedy underscores the dangers of sidelining waste workers’ concerns.
“Honoring the victims means ensuring that no waste worker is ever again forced to work under conditions that are known to be unsafe,” EcoWaste National Coordinator Aileen Lucero said.
The group said that waste workers play a critical role in reducing and managing garbage, yet they continue to work in hazardous environments without security, benefits, or legal recognition.
Probe landfill operator
Labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) described the incident as a crime rooted in profit-driven operations that disregard worker safety.
KMU called for an immediate investigation and demanded accountability from Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. (PIWSI), the private firm managing the Binaliw landfill. The group said that the company must be investigated for possible violations of occupational safety and health standards, penalized if found liable, and compelled to shoulder burial and medical expenses for the victims.
KMU also reiterated calls to strengthen Republic Act No. 11058, or the Occupational Safety and Health Law, including criminalizing noncompliance. They stressed, however, that waste workers will remain vulnerable without a sector-specific Magna Carta.
EcoWaste Coalition warned against using the tragedy to justify so-called quick fixes such as waste-to-energy incineration which it said are costly, polluting, and do not address the root causes of unsafe waste systems.
The group urged strict enforcement of Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, and a transition toward ecological and zero-waste systems anchored on worker protection and community participation.
Recurring tragedy
Advocates noted that the Binaliw disaster reflects past waste-related tragedies, including the Payatas dumpsite collapse in 2000 and the long-standing crisis at Smokey Mountain in Tondo. These prompted reforms but failed to dismantle the system that continues to endanger waste workers.
“More than two decades later, waste workers are still dying,” Lucero said. “Without the Magna Carta for Waste Workers, they remain unprotected, invisible, and expendable.”
As search and retrieval operations continue in Barangay Binaliw, groups stressed that passing the Magna Carta for Waste Workers is no longer optional but urgent.
“Justice for the victims means protecting those who continue to risk their lives just to survive,” Co said. “The Magna Carta for Waste Workers must be passed now, before another tragedy claims more lives.” (RTS, DAA)
The post Cebu landfill tragedy prompts calls for waste workers magna carta appeared first on Bulatlat.
From Bulatlat via This RSS Feed.