Japan’s top envoy in Manila has visited the fire-hit Navotas Sanitary Landfill Facility (NSLF), underscoring the country’s on‑the‑ground support for Philippine efforts to extinguish the weeks‑long blaze that has been dirtying the air over parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Japanese Ambassador Kazuya Endo on Tuesday (April 28) joined a site inspection of the landfill in Barangay Tanza, Navotas City, where an underground fire linked to methane gas continues to burn beneath decades of accumulated waste.
At the site, Ambassador Endo, together with Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna, and Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco, received a briefing on the ongoing response from a Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) expert team dispatched from Japan.
Ambassador Endo conveyed his appreciation to the JDR team and expressed hope for the early resolution of the situation, saying Japan stands ready to continue supporting Philippine agencies as they work to fully extinguish the fire and stabilize the 41‑hectare landfill.
The visit highlighted close coordination among the Embassy of Japan, Philippine national government agencies, and local officials as operations continue to contain remaining hotspots and manage the fire’s public health and environmental impacts.
The JDR team, deployed under the Japan Disaster Relief program of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), began work on April 23 following a request from the Philippine government through the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
Led by Minister Naobumi Yokota of the Embassy of Japan, the six‑member group of Japanese disaster experts is tasked to conduct technical assessments and provide guidance to Philippine authorities battling the lingering landfill fire.
In a recent statement, JICA said the expert team will remain in the Philippines for the duration of its mission “to carry out technical assessments and provide guidance in close coordination with relevant Philippine authorities.”
The Navotas facility, once one of Metro Manila’s main disposal sites, has been the source of smoke and hazardous air that have affected residents in Navotas and neighboring areas, prompting calls for stronger enforcement of safe closure standards for aging landfills.
Philippine officials told Ambassador Endo that the incident has underscored the need for proper landfill closure and gas management systems, as well as long‑term monitoring to prevent similar fires.
They said technical inputs from the Japanese experts are expected to improve ongoing suppression efforts and help shape future protocols for dealing with complex waste‑related emergencies.