ECOWASTE COALITION CALLS FOR MORE INCLUSIVE SENATE HEARING ON WASTE-TO-ENERGY BILLS

10 February 2026, Quezon City. The EcoWaste Coalition commented on the lack of representation of civil society organizations (CSOs), community groups, and zero-waste advocates from the Senate joint committee hearing on pending Waste-to-Energy (WTE) bills. The Coalition views this as a setback for participatory governance and environmental justice.

Despite submitting extensive research and repeatedly requesting engagement with key legislators, the Coalition with its member organizations were given limited invitations as resource persons and community attendees in the public hearing jointly convened by the Committees on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change; Ways and Means; and Finance on February 9, 2026.

Last December 3, 2025, the EcoWaste Coalition, through the Plastic Free Pilipinas project, submitted a comprehensive position paper against the legalization of the WTE bills signed by over 130 environmental CSOs, to the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO), Department of Energy, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and members of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC).

Then, the Coalition sent formal meeting requests to the Chairs of relevant Senate committees and several senators, reiterating the need for dialogue on the scientific, environmental, and socio-economic impacts of WTE. There was no response from the other side.

On February 6, 2026, the Coalition was unexpectedly informed of an upcoming joint hearing but had only participated by three representatives from the group: Mother Earth Foundation Chairperson Sonia Mendoza was invited as a resource speaker, and EcoWaste Coalition Policy Officer, Engr. Glory Rose Manatad, together with Greenresearch Environmental Research Group Inc Founding President Gwen Borcena as support observers.

“Thermal Waste-to-Energy locks cities into long-term contracts that discourage waste reduction, reuse  and recycling. Full implementation of RA9003 and Zero Waste solutions prioritizes waste reduction at source, reuse, recycling, composting, and environmentally sound disposal only as a last resort,” Mendoza said. 

In Manatad’s brief presentation as the last speaker of the hearing, she reiterated the need for transparency in evaluating the WTE technology, re-assessment of the scientific, environmental, and legal safeguards of the bill, strict implementation of the Ecological Waste Management Act (RA 9003) and Clean Air Act (RA 8749), and investing in safe zero-waste solutions instead of profit-driven quick-fixes. 

“We, the entire environmental community, appeal to the Senate’s wisdom to look beyond the quick-fix. We urge the Committee to uphold the ban on incineration, reject WTE bills, and instead focus on strict implementation of our existing key environmental laws,” Manatad said.

Senator Pia Cayetano expressed her openness to additional consultations on health and environmental impacts and technicalities of WTE with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the EcoWaste Coalition, and the rest of the present attendees at the table. There is an upcoming technical working group meeting to be scheduled. 

Executive Director of SIKAT Yeb Saño saw Senator Pia’s decision to tap the brakes on WTE as a big relief acknowledging the possible burden of locking country into decades of debt and toxic emissions, but explained the importance of community participation in the next hearings: “CSOs serve as the guardrails against the profit-over-people logic of false solutions like WTE. Including CSOs ensures that people's well-being and environmental integrity are not treated as items that can be swept under the rug.”

The EcoWaste Coalition urges the Senate to uphold democratic deliberation and ensure that future hearings provide space for accurate representation of frontline communities, independent experts, and grassroots organizations.