Manila’s garbage fees surge 1,200%. Who pays?

Business owners in Manila are struggling to keep up with the sharp increase in the garbage fees they are now required to pay under a new city ordinance.

Garbage fees for some businesses have risen by as much as 1,200%.

The city government, led by Mayor Isko Moreno, said the increase reflects the rising cost of waste collection and disposal, arguing that the previous rates were based on a revenue code approved more than a decade ago and no longer reflective of current expenses.

For many business owners, however, the sudden jump came as a shock. Some businesses told Rappler that there was a lack of public consultation when the ordinance revising the city’s revenue code was passed.

“It’s totally unfair to just pass that on to the average business owner. For instance, there are months where I barely made any profit revenue — expense was almost zero. So to pay for this onerous amount is a big blow to us,” a small cafe owner in Manila told Rappler.

Manila City Vice Mayor Chi Atienza, however, told Rappler that the garbage fees imposed by the city “do not require public consultation” under the Local Government Code.

“The administrative measure went through the proper legislative process in the city council, including committee discussions and internal reviews,” Atienza said in a Viber message to Rappler.

Why Manila’s garbage fee ballooned

Manila’s city council said the higher garbage collection fees are the result of a major shift in the location of the city’s waste disposal site.

Under the ordinance, the adjustment follows an order from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority requiring the capital city to haul its garbage to the New San Mateo Sanitary Landfill in Rizal, after the permanent closure of the Navotas Sanitary Landfill, where Manila and other cities in the region previously disposed of their waste.

City officials said the longer hauling distance has driven up transportation and operational costs, prompting the need to raise garbage fees to sustain collection services.

Moreno further justified the hike by pointing to rising fuel prices. In 2013, gasoline prices ranged from P39 to P43.05 per liter, compared with P56.74 to P59.74 per liter as of January 16, 2026, Moreno said. He noted that the higher fuel costs directly affect garbage hauling, fleet operations, and continuous collection.

In the ordinance, the council said the new rates are meant to “enhance the City’s waste management capacity, improve service delivery, and enhance the living conditions of Manileños.”

The council also said the revised fees are now aligned with actual waste generation by industry, with businesses that produce more garbage paying higher collection fees.

Citing a Waste Analysis and Characterization Study, Moreno said that in 2015, a single Manila resident generated an average of 0.607 kilograms of waste per day. By 2023, this figure had risen to 0.939 kilograms per person daily.

Based on the study and Manila’s population, Moreno estimated that the city now produces about 650,317 metric tons of garbage each day.

He also said there was no increase in garbage fees from 2019 to 2022, during his term as mayor, as businesses were struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Moreno, the city spends about P1.35 billion annually on garbage collection, but from 2013 to 2025, it collected only around P110 million in garbage fees. Moreno said that residents are not being charged with garbage fees, only businesses.

Moreno also said that the debt incurred by the previous administration likewise added to the ballooning cost of garbage collection.

Manila’s debt

Debt has become a central and recurring issue in Manila, with city leaders blaming one another’s administrations for the financial obligations accumulated over the years.

Moreno accused the administration of his predecessor and former ally, Honey Lacuna, of leaving behind unpaid obligations.

He said the city has long been subsidizing the cost of garbage collection, warning that continuing to do so could come at the cost of social service programs.

Leonel Waste Management Corporation, which is responsible for collecting garbage in the city, said the Manila city government incurred P561 million in unpaid dues during Lacuna’s term.

After Leonel’s contract ended on December 31, 2024, PhilEco and Metro Waste Solid Management took over garbage collection in the city. However, both companies later terminated their contracts, citing unpaid obligations totaling around P400 million.

Moreno then declared a state of health emergency due to uncollected waste and then tapped Leonel again to provide services in Manila.

During the campaign, Lacuna pointed out how the previous administration of Moreno also incurred a P17.8-billion debt. From 2019 to 2022, Lacuna served as Moreno’s vice mayor. She said that many of these infrastructure projects were designed to boost Moreno’s presidential bid.

Moreno rejected these accusations, saying Manila residents have benefited from the infrastructure projects. He also stressed that his administration had to secure loans during the COVID-19 pandemic, which put additional strain on the city’s finances.

Highest compared to other rich cities in the Metro

Compared to some of the richest cities in the National Capital Region, Manila imposes the most expensive garbage fees on businesses.

Local governments typically charge garbage fees based on a business’ type and size. To compare rates, Rappler compiled how some of the capital region’s wealthiest cities charge selected businesses.

For a restaurant or café with a floor area of at least 50 square meters but less than 100 square meters, Manila charges P48,000 a year. This is sharply higher than neighboring cities: P7,200 in Pasay City, P4,000 in Makati, P3,120 in Quezon City, and P2,000 in Taguig City.

Although Pasig is also among the richest cities in the region, it was excluded from the comparison because it uses a different pricing model. Under Pasig City’s revenue code, garbage fees are calculated based on a business’s actual floor area, rather than fixed rates tied to size brackets, a system used by most other cities.

In Caloocan, also among the wealthiest cities in the capital, garbage fees are based on a fixed annual fee, the number of employees, and the business’ actual floor area.

Legal concerns

Manila Anti-Incinerator Alliance (MAIA) also questioned the legality of Manila’s move to increase garbage fees. The group cited the Supreme Court ruling on Ferrer Jr. vs Quezon City, where the High Court ruled that garbage fees imposed by LGUs are invalid when they lack a clear basis and computation.

The group said that the ordinance increasing the garbage fee lacks details and “makes it impossible for the public to assess whether the fees are proportionate, reasonable, or justified.”

While the Supreme Court ruling on Quezon City pertains to garbage fees for residents and not businesses like in Manila, MAIA said that the court’s decision points out that “what matters is not who pays, but whether the fee is directly tied to a specific regulatory service.”

“Any garbage fee, whether imposed on households or businesses, must correspond to an actual service rendered and cannot be used as a disguised tax or revenue-generating measure,” said lawyer Zelda Soriano, founder and executive director of the Community Legal Help and Public Interest Centre, and legal counsel supporting the MAIA.

The group also criticizes the ordinance increasing the garbage fees, saying this “prioritizes fee collection for hauling and disposal, without demonstrating how it will meaningfully reduce waste generation.”

The group said that it “runs counter to the core objective of Republic Act No. 9003, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, which prioritizes waste reduction at source, reuse, recycling, and composting.”

“A system focused mainly on collecting fees and moving waste does not address the root of the problem,” the group said.

Blow on businesses

As a result of the hike, some businesses are now rethinking whether or not to continue operating or expanding in Manila — or whether to pass on to consumers the added costs.

Robby Sylianteng, owner of the First United Building (FUB) and member of Escolta Commercial Association Incorporated (ECAI), said that the garbage fee hike “disincentivizes people from renewing their business permit.”

“It’s getting tough for me to even invite people to the building now to start their business here,” Sylianteng said. FUB, one of the oldest buildings in Escolta, is offering office spaces for creatives.

A small fried chicken shop that recently opened in the city said it is unsure whether it can continue operating after being charged P36,000 in garbage fees for the first quarter of the year.

“I just started my business, and it looks like I’ll have to close it already. It hurts. I never thought it would come to this. I’m just selling fried chicken,” he said in a Facebook post.

One Manila-based business owner, who requested anonymity due to fear of possible backlash from the city government, said they are considering removing student discounts and revising customer-friendly payment terms to offset the higher garbage fees.

The owner added that the increase has also dampened plans to expand within the city.

“Definitely not opening another business in Manila. If you compare ease of business, transparency, level of service, safety, talo eh (It’s a loss). Even accounting services — if you say your business is in Manila, they charge higher compared to other cities because they know how tedious it is to work with Manila,” the business owner said.

With the increase in garbage fees, Sylianteng hopes that there will be more transparency in the city government, especially when it comes to its expenses.

Addressing Manila’s garbage problem was a central promise of Moreno’s election campaign. He promised to “make Manila great again.” A few days into office, he declared a state of health emergency over the city’s trash crisis.

Immediately, garbage trucks rolled out across the city. Streets were cleared almost overnight, a move widely welcomed by residents.

But a few months later, businesses are feeling the financial weight of sustaining that cleanup. And sooner or later, owners warned, the cost of cleaner streets may find its way to consumers’ pockets and even voters’ ballots. – with research from Arriane Dela Cruz and Vicensa Nonato/Rappler.com

Arriane Dela Cruz is a Rappler intern. She is an Economics student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Manila. Vicensa Nonato is also a Rappler intern. She is a journalism student at the University of the Philippines Diliman.