THE Davao City Council approved on third and final reading during its 42nd regular session on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, an ordinance establishing an Interim Hazard Management Zone (IHMZ) within and around the New Carmen Sanitary Landfill to address slope instability and landslide risks, following the deadly collapse of a garbage mound at the landfill.
Councilor Alberto Ungab, author of the ordinance and chairperson of the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, said the restrictions are temporary and will last a minimum of five years while engineering and stabilization works are carried out in the area.
“That’s why it’s called interim or temporary. The hazard is permanent. But the situation is temporary. Because once the hazard is controlled, then people who have houses there or residences there can go back. The only difference is they cannot live there now,” Ungab said during the Pulong-Pulong sa Dabawenyos media forum at the Sangguniang Panlungsod on Tuesday.
Seven zones
The ordinance divides the area into seven zones: a no-build zone, a no-settlement zone, a controlled access zone, an engineering intervention zone, a buffer zone, a monitoring zone, and technical or monitoring sub-areas within these zones.
The boundaries of each zone will be shown on official hazard maps to be prepared by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) with other city offices.
Ungab said the boundaries will be identified based on the landfill area, which includes the closed old landfill and the new landfill beside it.
Under the ordinance, implementation will begin in the areas with the most immediate risk before expanding to other areas based on technical assessment.
No residents left
Ungab said that based on the committee’s last hearing, there are no more houses or people living inside the area.
Residents, most of whom have farmlots below the landfill, voluntarily relocated with the help of the city government because of the hazard.
“And we’re trying to control that they’re not going back there,” Ungab said.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development–Davao earlier profiled 22 families affected by the May incident.
The ordinance prohibits new residential occupancy in the no-settlement zone and bars new construction and land development in the no-build zone without written authorization from the city.
Entry into controlled access areas may be limited to authorized personnel, emergency responders, contractors, and property owners given specific clearance.
Safeguards
The ordinance states that the restrictions are temporary and preventive and shall not be considered a permanent deprivation of property rights or expropriation.
It also provides that no phase of implementation authorizes eviction or demolition outside the procedures required by law. Existing lawful uses are not automatically prohibited just because the land falls within the zone, and minor repairs to existing structures that do not expand them are allowed, subject to permits.
Property owners within the zone are required to allow authorized government personnel to conduct inspections and to report signs of ground movement, soil cracking, or other hazards to the CDRRMO.
Steep terrain
Ungab said stabilization is difficult because the slope remains steep. Engineering works and safety measures are ongoing, led by the CDRRMO and the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO).
“It’s not easy to stabilize, especially because of the terrain,” he said.
He added that El Niño could worsen the risk. Dry soil develops cracks, and when rain seeps into the cracks, landslides may follow.
Lifting restrictions
The ordinance creates a Hazard Management Technical Working Group (HMTWG) composed of the CDRRMO, CPDO, and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro), among other offices.
Ungab said residents may return once the working group declares the hazard controllable. The working group may also recommend to the City Mayor the lifting of restrictions on specific portions of the zone, rather than the whole area at once.
May trash slide
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Davao (DENR-Davao) reported the trash slide at the old sanitary landfill in Barangay New Carmen, Tugbok District, on May 20, 2026, left two people dead, one missing, and two others injured.
Authorities earlier said a portion of the garbage mound gave way due to water buildup from heavy rains, burying a nearby house.
DENR suspended waste disposal at the landfill following the incident.
In June, the DENR Environmental Management Bureau in Davao ordered the permanent closure of the old landfill and transferred the city’s waste disposal to an interim cell within the new sanitary landfill beside it. DENR said the interim cell was structurally ready to receive waste as of June 18. GRS