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Nadine Lustre and Anne Curtis slam gov't after Kara David exposes Subic garbage crisis
Entertainment
Celebrities
Nadine Lustre and Anne Curtis slam gov't after Kara David exposes Subic garbage crisis
Nadine Lustre and Anne Curtis slam gov't after Kara David exposes Subic garbage crisis
By Neil Ramos
Published Jul 16, 2026 10:21 am
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Updated Jul 16, 2026 06:55 pm
At A Glance
- Nadine Lustre and Anne Curtis slam government inaction over the shocking Subic forest dumpsite exposed in Kara David's documentary "Ibinasurang Paraiso."
What does it take to wake up the Philippine government? If the visual horror of a pristine forest turned into a mountain of trash isn’t enough, you would think the combined social media firestorm of multi-awarded actress Nadine Lustre and multimedia superstar Anne Curtis would do the trick. Instead, we are left staring at a system so stubbornly broken that even the loudest voices in entertainment are shouting into a void.
The outrage began after an "i-Witness" documentary by veteran journalist Kara David titled "Ibinasurang Paraiso," exposed a catastrophic open dumpsite hidden inside a forest reserve in Sbuic, Zambales, directly encroaching into an Aeta haven.
What was once a lush ravine has been filled, truck by truck, year after year, with tons of unchecked garbage.
For the community living on the frontlines, the devastation is deeply personal.
"Parang nagagalit po na hindi ko po maintindihan ang sarili ko po. Naawa din po ako sa lugar. Bakit ginaganito po nila? Masakit po sa damdamin po, Ma’am. Napakasakit po," shared local resident Erlinda Capistrano.
Horrified by the footage, A-list celebrities took to social media, translating their shock into sharp, direct rebukes of public officials.
In a series of Instagram stories, she laid bare her frustration for the Aeta people and the sheer negligence surrounding the site.
"This is just heartbreaking," Lustre began. "Such an injustice to the Aeta people, their ancestral land, and the environment. Panong di ka magagalit?"
She praised the documentary for bringing the issue to light, stating, "Props to Ms. Kara David for putting this to light!"
However, Lustre saved her sharpest sarcasm for the administration’s systemic failure to manage the country's waste crisis.
"Nakakatawa nalang na 2026 na di pa rin natin alam ano gagawin sa mga basura natin. Mukha namang afford na natin gumawa ng proper disposal plan sa dami ng pera natin! Ay…oo nga pala," she added, taking a deliberate swipe at national budget allocations and corruption.
Meanwhile, "It's Showtime" host and global icon Anne Curtis echoed the frustration on X, urging for concrete structural reforms.
"On other news, kudos to mam @karadavid and the @IWitnessGMA team for exposing this. Nakakalungkot," Curtis posted.
"Hopefully one day the government seeks a way to introduce waste to energy solutions in the country. But also educate the people on proper waste management."
This ecological disaster did not manifest overnight.
Do we dare?
For sure the blame sits squarely on negligent officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the local government units of Zambales who possess direct oversight.
Why not?
How did fleets of garbage trucks enter a protected forest area for years without being flagged?
This is a textbook failure to enforce "Republic Act 9003," pointing to either severe administrative incompetence or active collusion. Unscrupulous private waste contractors also treated an indigenous ancestral domain as a cheap shortcut to avoid the fees and regulations of proper sanitary landfills.
This brings us to a deeply frustrating truth: If mainstream media exposure and the combined reach of millions of celebrity followers cannot force public officials to do their basic jobs, what will?