Manila, April 28 -- Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuyo Endo on Tuesday conducted a follow-up assessment of the Navotas landfill, which continues to emit toxic smoke affecting nearby communities.

"Based on estimates, we have extinguished almost half of the fire," Dizon said.

Dizon earlier visited the site where he ordered the deployment of heavy equipment to help neutralize the blaze, which has affected the air quality in nearby cities.

Aside from the Japanese envoy, technical experts from the Japan Disaster Response team also inspected the facility's current condition.

Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna, Mayor John Rey Tiangco were present during the inspection.

During the inspect...