ILOILO City – Anticipating nearly 300 tons of garbage during the weeklong Dinagyang Festival 2026, the Iloilo City Government has rolled out an intensified sanitation drive, deploying 327 street sweepers, six garbage trucks, additional waste bins, portable toilets, and water tankers to keep festival venues clean and orderly.
General Services Office (GSO) chief Engr. Neil Ravena said the city expects a sharp rise in waste volume compared to last year’s 260 tons, citing the scale of activities and crowd turnout this year.
“This year, we are projecting an additional 40 to 60 tons, so we are looking at close to 300 tons of garbage overall,” Ravena said.
Ravena noted that even during the opening salvo alone, two truckloads of garbage were already collected from the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand, describing the event as a crucial dry run for the festival highlights.
“Based on our experience during the opening salvo, we will deploy more teams, particularly in areas like the Garden of Love and Barangay Magsaysay village, to ensure cleanliness is maintained,” he said.
For the highlight events, six garbage trucks will continuously roam key areas for immediate waste collection, while all 327 street sweepers will be deployed citywide.
The city will also install 80 portable toilets in strategic locations, including food festival sites, judging areas, Sunburst Park, and the Freedom Grandstand, with maintenance personnel assigned round-the-clock.
“In the Freedom Grandstand alone, we will add eight portable toilets on top of the existing public toilets,” Ravena said.
Water tankers will also be deployed for flushing operations along critical roads such as Valeria-Delgado Street, Ledesma Street, and the Freedom Grandstand area.
Ravena said comfort rooms at the Iloilo Sports Complex have already been inspected and readied to accommodate thousands of ticketed spectators.
“We will deploy a 20-cubic-meter truck at the Sports Complex. We expect around 5,000 to 6,000 kilos of waste from that area alone, and one truck should be enough to haul all the garbage there,” he said.
The city has increased the number of waste bins to more than 100, with additional bins to be installed upon request from private partners, particularly along parade routes where littering was observed to be “problematic” during the Opening Salvo.
As part of beautification and protection measures, temporary fencing will also be installed along plant-lined areas such as Ledesma Street and Muelle Loney Street.
Despite the pressure on the city’s sanitary landfill, Ravena assured the public that sustainability measures are in place, including full operation of the city’s materials recovery facility (MRF).
“We will operate our materials recovery facility. My instruction is that all plastics recovered from Dinagyang will be brought to our MRF,” he said.
“I want to document the journey of plastic waste during the Dinagyang celebration as part of our circular economy project,” Ravena added.
The GSO said sanitation teams will remain on full alert throughout the Dinagyang Festival to ensure Iloilo City remains clean, orderly, and welcoming to both residents and visitors./PN
