More than 111 metric tons of hazardous medical waste, some of which had been stored for over three decades, have been removed from hospitals operated by the Negros Occidental provincial government as part of a major environmental cleanup drive.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said the waste, collected as of August 1, was transported to a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-accredited treatment facility to ensure safe, environmentally compliant disposal.
The hazardous waste had accumulated in septic vaults and designated hazardous waste storage areas of four provincial government-run hospitals: Governor Valeriano Gatuslao Memorial Hospital in Himamaylan City, Lorenzo Zayco District Hospital in Kabankalan City, Don Salvador Benedicto Memorial District Hospital in La Carlota City, and Ignacio Arroyo Sr. Memorial District Hospital in Isabela town.
The collection and hauling operations were carried out by pollution control officers under the Office of the Provincial Administrator.
Diaz said the cleanup forms part of the provincial government’s broader effort to address decades of accumulated hazardous waste while strengthening long-term medical waste management across provincial hospitals.
He added that cleanup operations will continue until all government-run hospitals are cleared of accumulated hazardous waste and a comprehensive system for monitoring, segregation, packing, and environmentally responsible disposal is fully in place.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, contributes to Negros Daily Bulletin, and maintains a blog on Medium.