THE PAYATAS TRAGEDY

History of Payatas

Lupang Pangako, which used to be called Urban, is situated within the contested 2,818-hectare Payatas Estate where a large part of the land is presently occupied by big subdivisions owned by big landlords.

Around 907 hectares of the Estate which now forms part of Quezon City is occupied by the Novaliches Reservoir (or La Mesa Dam) and 444 hectares is part of the National Government Center (NGC).

In 1995, the whole of Payatas Estate has a recorded population of 311,502. Today, the population is estimated to be around 450,000-600,000.

Payatas DumpsiteWhere most of 6,500 tons of Metro Manila's daily garbage was

diverted and the neighboring San Mateo landfill. It has developed into a residential and commercial area since.

Comprises much of the 0.78% of the land designated for public utilities. But the people making a living surrounding the dumpsite live in informal settlements that take up approximately 18.4% of the entire estate -- the majority of all occupied land.

The open dumpsite openly invited all sorts of diseases. Methane and other toxic chemicals emitted by the garbage heap can cause various respiratory illnesses.

A Swedish group commissioned by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to study the possibility of leachate intrusion into the nearby La Mesa Dam, the dumpsite has already reached its limit and has already been the cause of environmental and health-related problems.

The group also warned on the possibility of a garbage-slide due to the steepness of the slope and the sloppy way by which the trash is dumped in the area.

Garbage-Slide

The first recorded incident of garbage-slide occurred in Lupang Pangako in August 3, 1999 during the height of a typhoon. While only pigs were killed in that incident, 32 families lost their homes.

A year after, the Quezon City government has done nothing on the growing demand of Lupang Pangako residents to immediately close the Payatas dumpsite.

A year after, another garbage-slide occurred on the fateful morning of July 10, several times worse than the first one. This time, more than 500 families lost their homes, livelihood, and properties, aside from loved ones.

A 50-foot garbage mountain collapsed on their makeshift houses at the height of torrential rains. 

To date, 234 people have been confirmed dead due to the disaster, while 85 persons remain missing and are still believed to be under the dump.

Recovery operations have stopped since July 22. Around 63 bodies recovered since then are presently kept at the Empire View Park and have yet to be released by the forensic team and the QC government to their respective families.

A few days after the disaster, several families in other Phases and in other areas around the dumpsite, particularly in the Group III area, were evacuated as they were believed to be in a danger zone. Officials feared another garbage-slide due to continuous heavy rains.

Causes of the Garbage-SlideThe stability of a slope changes from a stable to an

unstable condition.Weakening of a slope through saturation by heavy rains.Aggravated by human activities.Groundwater (porewater) pressure acting to destabilize

the slope.Earthworks which alters the shape of a slope, or which

imposes new loads on an existing slope.Anthropic activities such as adding excessive weight

above the slope.

Effect of the Slide

Environmental and/or human lossesEverything is buried under rubble, dirt, and mud.People die

because they are trapped under all that dirt.considerable damage to property.Public and private economic losses.

FROM TRAGEDY TO STATEGY

Now officially & benignly re-named "Quezon City Controlled Disposal Facility"

FIN