• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Universal Robina Corporation – Bais Distillery faces criminal and administrative charges before the Bais City Prosecutor’s Office and Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB), respectively, for the waste water spill at the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, which resulted in damage to marine life, estimated by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources at P182 million, according to Charlie Fabre, regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Negros Island Region.
Fabre said URC is facing criminal complaints for violation of Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018, in the spillage of an estimated 2,555 cubic meters of untreated waste into the Tañon Strait on October 26, following the collapse of its dike.
Since then, the URC was prohibited from resuming operations, following the issuance of a Cease and Desist Order against them, the DENR-NIR regional director said.
They first have to comply with the ruling of PAB, if they will be allowed to resume operations, Fabre added.
DENR also sought assistance of the Silliman University, University of the Philippines – Dilliman and the DENR research division to conduct further damage assessment of Tañon Strait at Bais Bay in Negros Oriental, for a science-based study on how to rehabilitate the marine protected area.
The URC management blamed the collapse of its dike to numerous earthquakes and heavy rains.
More than a month after the incident, the Philippine Coast Guard reported that dolphins have already been sighted at the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, as they noted an improvement in the water quality, which appears “clear.”
The URC management had vowed full cooperation with authorities, following the molasses wastewater spill from its distillery.
The incident led to the temporary shutdown of the popular White Sandbar in Manjuyod, locally known as Maldives of the Philippines, and dolphin watching activities in Bais City, Negros Oriental.*
