• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
An incident of fish kill has been reported at a river in Ilog, Negros Occidental.
Gideon Padilla, head of the Ilog Municipal Risk Reduction and Management Office, however, said that the fish kill, which was noted last month, contrary to reports, is not massive.
Padilla disclosed that fish samples from the Ilog River were brought to the Negros Prawn Producers Cooperative laboratory for testing.
Only a portion of the Ilog Hilabangan River in Sitio Malabong in Brgy. 2, Ilog, was affected by the fish kill, he added.
Some Ilog fishermen have expressed fears that the fish kill may affect their source of livelihood.
Forester Lucia Salazar, DENR Supervising Environment Specialist, said there was delay in the investigation of the reported fish kill, as it was only reported on June 9, with laboratory testing conducted on June 14.
Salazar raised the possibility that “the sample may have been contaminated because of the time delay.”
“It should be the Bureau of Fishery and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) which should be the primary agency who should conduct the tests,” she suggested.*
