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The order will remain in effect until the Binalbagan-Isabela Sugar Company fully complies with cleanup and rehabilitation requirements
NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – An adjudication board of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has issued a cease and desist order against the Binalbagan-Isabela Sugar Company (BISCOM) in connection with the massive molasses spill which contaminated water bodies in Binalbagan town and nearby coastal areas in April.
The Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB), a quasi-judicial body under the DENR, assumed full jurisdiction over the case and issued the order. The order, signed on April 25 but only made public this week, barred BISCOM from discharging wastewater or any byproducts from its molasses operations.
The order will remain in effect until BISCOM fully complies with cleanup and rehabilitation requirements, Wilma Lagance, legal chief of the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau in Region VI, told Rappler on Tuesday, May 20.
An earlier cease and desist order signed by Environmental Management Bureau-Western Visayas Director Ramar Neil Pascua ordered BISCOM to stop its discharges only for seven days.
Unlike the previous order, the latest order has no fixed lifespan and is considered a step closer to a permanent ban, pending full environmental compliance.
The April 19 spill occurred after one of BISCOM’s containment structures reportedly ruptured due to extreme heat. The incident released an estimated 2,500 metric tons of molasses, valued at around P25 million, into the Binalbagan River, nearby canals, and even reached parts of the Guimaras Strait, according to local officials.
Based on the Clean Water Act of 2004 and the Sugarcane Industry Development Act, industrial wastewater must meet quality standards and should be reused for agricultural purposes where applicable.
Vicente Losbanes, head of EMB-VI’s monitoring and enforcement division, said BISCOM has yet to complete its cleanup operations.
The PAB will determine monetary penalties once the environmental impact is fully assessed. Daily fines range from P25,000 to P500,000, depending on the extent of environmental damage.
The Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) of Binalbagan reported that 15 fishpond owners in barangays Canmoros and Enclaro suffered P279,215 in losses.
Jill Abeto, acting provincial head of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), said the agency is finalizing its damage assessment to facilitate aid to affected fisherfolk.
BISCOM, headed by famous singer Jose Marie Chan, has publicly apologized for the spill, which affected communities in Marina, Progreso, and San Juan, in addition to the inland and coastal ecosystems.
No motion for a temporary lifting of the order would be entertained, Lagance said. – Rappler.com
