The Payatas landslide was a
garbage dump collapse at
Payatas
Payatas is a barangay located in the 2nd district of Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Nearby barangays are Commonwealth, Batasan Hills and Bagong Silangan.
History
The name Payatas derived from the word ''payat sa taas'' (), which means ...
,
Quezon City
Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was foun ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, on July 10, 2000. A large pile of garbage first collapsed and then went up in flames which resulted in the destruction of about 100
squatter
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
s' houses.
218 people were killed, according to official data, and caused 300 missing persons. Other sources, however, suggest that 705 people were killed in Payatas (Westfall, 2001) and many first-hand accounts note the number is far greater than the official figure, perhaps closer to 1,000.
The dumping ground was immediately closed following the incident by then President
Joseph Estrada
Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...
but was reopened weeks later by then-Quezon City Mayor
Ismael Mathay Jr. to avert an epidemic in the city due to uncollected garbage caused by the closure.
The landslide prompted the passage of Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000,
which mandates the closure of open dumpsites in the Philippines by 2004 and controlled dumpsites by 2006.
In 2004, the Payatas dumpsite was reconfigured as a controlled disposal facility.
[ but was closed in December 2010.]
See also
* Bangkang papel boys survivors of the tragedy, who attempted to get the attention of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
References
External links
Quezon City disaster in July, 2000
2000 disasters in the Philippines
History of Metro Manila
Landslides in 2000
Landslides in the Philippines
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