𝐆𝐎𝐕 𝐏𝐀𝐌: 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐄𝐁𝐔
Governor Pam Baricuatro has announced the setting up of an integrated solid waste management facility in each of the north and south areas of Cebu, to address the waste situation in the province.
She made the statement during her tour of the Guun Co. Ltd. waste plastic recycling facility in Sitio Sun-ok, Tayud, Consolacion, Cebu morning of Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
“One in the north and one in the south…. Location is not the problem. The problem is the funding,” she told those gathered during the discussion that followed the facility tour.
In her welcome message, she expressed the Cebu Provincial Government’s gratefulness for the help Japan is extending in solving Cebu’s solid waste problem.
“I have visited Japan and was truly impressed by its level of waste management…. That is why as we make the push towards a greener future, as part of the Provincial Government’s ‘Clean Cebu Campaign’, we do so with confidence and self-assurance. We do so without fear and hesitation because Japan is with us,” she said.
The governor led a delegation that visited Yokohama, Japan last February to explore its waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies and learn from its experiences.
The Guun plant in Consolacion is a Japanese solid waste management and recycling facility that processes daily 50 to 75 tons of waste plastics and paper and converts them into “fluff fuel”, which is an eco-friendly alternative to coal used by cement manufacturers.
On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Ministry of Environment Japan’s (MOEJ) Vice Minister for Global Environmental Affairs Kentaro Doi joined the governor during the tour, which was also attended by Provincial Board Member Stanley Caminero, Consolacion Mayor Teresa P. Alegado, Danao City Mayor Ramon “Nito” D. Durano III, and Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival Jr.
For Vice Minister Doi, they are more than willing to share the knowledge they gained in solving the same problem in Japan.
“For us in Japan, we struggled with these problems as well and we tried to work on solutions for the past 30 years. We are very happy to share our know-how and experience with you. So that, for Cebu as well, the Philippines can speed up the process of solving the problem,” he said through an interpreter.
Guun’s waste-to-energy technology has been adopted by the MOEJ) as a model for advanced, low-carbon technology innovation in developing nations like the Philippines.
During the presentation and discussion after the plant tour, it was acknowledged that the approach in Cebu should not just be a WTE facility, hence the proposal for an integrated “Green Transformation (GX) Park”.
For the north, Mayor Ramon “Nito” D. Durano III declared during the gathering that Danao City will host the GX Park for the north by providing at least a hectare of public land for it. Elizar Sabinay Jr. of the Provincial Planning and Development Office said a suitable location is being looked for southern Cebu.
Toru Hashimoto, president of Yokohama’s consultancy organization Y-Bridge, said the facility can be made to “incrementally expand” later on. He said a study is needed to determine if more than two GX Park is needed to amply address Cebu’s waste situation.
Takeshi Konishi, GUUN Co., Ltd. Philippine Branch manager and executive managing director and SM GUNN Environmental Company Inc. director, on the other hand, assured they would work closely with the government in its effort to address Cebu’s solid waste problem, as a “shared commitment”.
“We firmly believe that collaboration among governments, industries, communities, and recycling companies like us is getting more and more crucial in addressing the environmental challenges we are facing today,” he said. /𝑪𝑨𝑷𝑰𝑻𝑶𝑳 𝑷𝑰𝑶 & 𝑷𝑷𝑫𝑶, 𝑷𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝑭𝑬
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