Garbage fee

The City of Manila has implemented a steep increase of up to 1,200 percent in commercial garbage collection fees via City Ordinance 9151.

Business owners have flooded social media with expressions of shock they felt while renewing business permits.

The bad news is that there is no hope a rate reversal or a legal freeze will happen. The Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking to nullify the 1,200-percent increase in garbage collection fees, saying the ordinance is a valid regulatory measure, not a tax or revenue measure.

With the city’s authority to impose the 1,200 percent increase upheld, businesses are resigned that the only available remedy is to move away from Manila.

But even that may not be a good long-term strategy especially for small businesses like restaurants and coffee shops. The Supreme Court ruling sets a powerful precedent. Other mayors now know they have the legal clearance to follow Manila’s imposition of high regulatory fees on commercial entities.

Given that the garbage fees of other NCR cities are also outdated, a widespread regional increase across the metro area is a matter of time. But maybe, the other cities will be kinder than Manila and have more cautious rollouts of rate increases to avoid scaring businesses away.

Businesses are not the only ones affected by the garbage fee increase. I received an email from a non-profit foundation complaining that they too have been billed the atrocious increase.

“As a long-time business columnist, I thought you might be interested to hear our story about our Manila business license for our virtual office on Escolta.

“We are a non-profit educational support NGO. We support adults who once dropped out to complete their primary and secondary education via ALS, the alternative learning system.

“We have been assessed P29,000 for six months, of which P24,000 is for garbage collection. We don’t and won’t hold office there. The virtual office just keeps all our required docs in a folder (Articles of Incorporation, BIR docs, resolutions, etc.) ready for inspection. We pay P3,000/month for them to maintain this folder. Of course we produce no garbage.

“Our lawyer appealed and was told this figure is correct. It’s pretty outrageous.”

Well, this NGO should just move to a virtual office outside of Manila.

In justifying their 1,200-percent garbage fee increase, the Manila city government under Mayor Isko Moreno claims the rate had not been updated since 2013. Hauling costs have increased, the city officials claim, citing directives to redirect commercial waste to the New San Mateo Sanitary Landfill in Rizal, which drastically raised transportation and tipping expenses.

Manila city officials claim they are just trying to recover costs because their annual garbage collection expenses reached roughly P1.35 billion but only collected P110 million total from 2013 to 2025. Quezon City however, spends more, P2.118 billion for garbage collection.

Neighboring local governments in Quezon City, Pasig and Makati have not enacted a similar catastrophic rate surge. Other local government units periodically adjust regulatory fees based on inflation or triennial real property updates.

The Manila city government may have a valid reason for updating their garbage collection fee but implementing a 1,200- percent jump at once, rather than a staggered, multi-year phased increase, creates a severe liquidity problem especially for small businesses.

The fee is calculated primarily based on the square meter size of the establishment, rather than actual volume of waste generated. This unfairly penalizes low-waste offices.

Manila’s updated rates are significantly higher than neighboring cities. Manila’s commercial rates are anywhere from six to 30 times more expensive than what businesses pay in Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig and Makati.

For example, a mid-sized business (50–100 square meters) pays around P48,000 annually under Manila’s new ordinance, compared to just P7,200 in Pasay City. Even a small clinic or standalone retail shop in Manila faces starting annual fees of roughly P12,000, compared to small shops in Quezon City that start at less than P500.

Quezon City separates commercial waste management costs into a nominal, fixed annual regulatory fee ranging from P800 to P1,000 depending on the establishment type.

Standard minimum local business applications drop as low as P156, making it highly affordable for micro-retailers.

In Manila, there is double charging as well. Small businesses point out that the ordinance allows Manila to charge both the building lessor and the individual tenants leasing space within that same building, creating duplicate revenue from a single property. The foundation that wrote me isn’t even leasing space but just keeping a folder in the virtual office’s cabinet.

While the underlying economic triggers (landfill relocation, inflation and a 13-year freeze) are valid reasons for an increase, the immediate, flat 12-fold spike based on area size rather than waste output is highly burdensome and punitive to MSMEs.

As a result, business owners have warned they are left with no option other than imminent closures and move operations to more business-friendly cities like Quezon City. Under Mayor Joy Belmonte, Kyusi is often seen as a business-friendly city with its relatively predictable fees, clearer regulations and more responsive systems.

An entrepreneur wrote an article for the Philippine News Agency pointing out that “ironically, the high garbage fees would be easier to accept if garbage collection services were efficient and reliable. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

“There are persistent complaints about irregular garbage collection, missed pick-ups and unsanitary conditions in many parts of the city. Some businesses still experience piles of uncollected trash despite paying high fees. This gap between the amount paid and the quality of service received fuels frustration and deepens distrust.”

The PNA article sums it up well: “In the end, garbage management is not just about waste — it is about governance, fairness and trust. Manila’s leaders must ensure that solutions to urban problems do not come at the expense of the very businesses that keep the city alive.”

Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on X @boochanco