THE main objective of Cebu’s “Air Quality and Class Cancellation Open Forum” was for Cebu’s local government units to come up with uniform guidelines on when to suspend face-to-face classes during times of poor air quality. How bad must air quality be to justify the cancellation of classes?
Judging from news reports, air pollution itself and how to combat it didn’t receive much attention during the discussions. Some days after the forum, however, Sunstar Cebu reported that lawyer John Edward Ang, the head of the Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas (EMB-7), singled out improper waste management as a source of air pollution. “Our local strategy,” Ang said, “is the promotion of open spaces, doing programs to actually move forward with proper waste management initially, so that it can also help curb the suspension of fugitive particulates here, as they are absorbed by plants.” (Sunstar Cebu, Oct. 25, 2026)
There is no doubt that uncollected waste, landfills and lack of open spaces don’t exactly contribute to better air quality. Waste is indeed among the “most polluting sectors” alongside transportation, industry and energy in Southeast Asian cities, according to Beth Elliott and colleagues (World Resource Institute, Nov. 28, 2023). However, the sector’s contribution is dwarfed by the emissions from vehicles, industrial plants and power plants. According to the EMB’s own national emissions inventory from 2021, mobile sources (cars, motorcycles, trucks, airplanes, ships, etc.) accounted for 94.3 percent of emissions in Central Visayas (which included Negros Oriental and Siquijor at the time); 5.54 percent was attributed to stationary sources such as power plants and factories.
“Effective mitigation” of emissions starts with “identifying where emissions originate, quantifying their magnitude, and determining which sectors pose the greatest risk to human health and the environment,” to quote the Asian Development Bank. But how do we determine origin and magnitude when our air quality monitoring is so inadequate? Cebu appears to have only two continuous monitoring stations and five manual (not continuous) stations. They cover only Central Cebu.
Yet, air pollution is hyperlocal. Explains Clean Air Asia: Air pollution “can vary significantly even within the same city depending on proximity to sources and pollution dispersion.” Thus, there is a “need to use multiple sources of data.”
Multiple sources. The LGUs of Metro Cebu, including the highly urbanized cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue, apparently don’t have their own continuous monitoring stations. Together, they have a population of nearly 2 million. Add the other cities and municipalities of Metro Cebu, and we have a population of more than 3 million, a little over the population of Quezon City. Quezon City has “68 monitoring sites which continuously provide PM2.5 levels in the city,” 33 of which are found in public elementary and high schools across the city. This information is found in Clean Air Asia’s assessment of Quezon City’s class suspensions during the September 2026 haze. Quezon City’s air quality monitoring network enables the city government to make decisions based on more accurate and up-to-date data compared to Cebu’s local government units.
Cebu, especially Metro Cebu, must invest in air quality monitoring systems and not rely solely on the national government. And monitoring should not be limited to particulate matter only. There are toxic air pollutants that need monitoring as well.
EMB’s Ang singled out improper waste management as a factor in Cebu’s air pollution but didn’t present data to back up this claim. Not that solid waste management isn’t a problem in Metro Cebu, with tons of mismanaged trash polluting coastal areas, clogging drainage systems, or piling up on sidewalks and vacant lots. But when the issue is air quality, our inadequate waste management system isn’t the main source. Thus, “proper waste management” isn’t the solution. Sources of emissions need to be identified in order for authorities to address air pollution effectively.
In 2021 and early 2022, the EMB donated 490 sets of solid waste shredders and composters, and 69 sets of plastic recycling equipment and plastic chair molds to cities, municipalities and provinces across the country. Nearly P1 billion of taxpayers’ money was spent on these donations. The Commission on Audit found that much of the equipment remained idle long after it was delivered. EMB procured and donated the equipment without verifying if the equipment actually met the needs and capacities of the recipient LGUs.
Cebu-based Suki Trading Corp. and its joint venture partner Boston Homes, Inc. were the main suppliers. Suki continues to be tapped by EMB. The company recently submitted a P470-million proposal to the Cebu City government for the delivery of two pyrolysis machines, two automatic waste segregation machines, and the building that will house this equipment. Is this — or worse — waste-to-energy what Ang has in mind when talking about “proper waste management”?
The weather conditions that worsen air pollution are beyond our control. These weather conditions and their impact are expected to intensify due to the El Niño. Meaning, we can expect more days of choking air in the coming months. What are we going to do about it?
