PHOTO BY ALEX BADAYOS

10,000 PIGS IN LIMBO: The National Bureau of Investigation 7 and the Philippine Coast Guard 7 have shut down Multifarms Agro-Industrial Development Corp. in San Fernando, Cebu and had its drainage system destroyed after it allegedly used the system to dump pig waste directly into the sea. The owner was arrested.

A closure order was issued against a large-scale piggery in Sitio Magtalisay, Barangay Sangat, San Fernando on Tuesday, Feb. 26, for allegedly violating various environmental laws.

The piggery allegedly violated Republic Act (RA) 8550, or the Fisheries Code of the Philippines, and RA 9275, or the Clean Water Act, for allegedly dumping pig waste directly into the sea.

The piggery has allegedly been operating without a permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources 7 since the 1980s.

A complaint was also lodged against the piggery owners before the National Coast Watch System in Manila before it was forwarded to the Regional Coordinating Center of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) 7.

After discovering that the piggery’s drainage system emptied out into the sea, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 and the PCG 7 decided to close the establishment and ask personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways to destroy the drainage system.

The NBI 7 also arrested Santiago Tanchan III, owner of the Multifarms Agro-Industrial Development Corp., and maintenance officers Jayson Fritz Aguanta and Jeramil Sabala and manager Rosalio Aguanta.

“During the service of the search warrant, we chanced upon the owner as well as the plant manager and other officers… dumping wastewater into the municipal waters of San Fernando. That’s the reason we conducted an arrest after finding that,” said Czar Eric Nuqui, chief of the NBI 7 Environmental Crimes Division.

The search warrant was issued by the Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 24 after several months of monitoring by the composite team composed of the NBI 7, PCG 7 and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar) 7.

“Right now, we are still continuing our investigation, but we are contemplating on filing cases. Maybe, first thing tomorrow morning, we will be filing cases via inquest with the Department of Justice at the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office,” Nuqui said.

Tanchan, Sabala and Jayson and Rosalio Aguanta will be charged with violating RA 10654, or the Fisheries Code of 1998; RA 9275; and Presidential Decree 1067, or the Water Code of the Philippines.

Tanchan refused to be interviewed. “We’ll wait for our lawyer,” he said.

Meanwhile, Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7 Director William Cuñado said he had ordered Multifarms to pay P14.5 million as penalty for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act on several occasions.

He said the firm always appealed his order before their central office in Manila, which caused delays in the implementation of the penalty.

He said the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) also denied the firm’s appeals.

Cuñado said that at one time, the firm told the PAB it already corrected its violations and complied with the law, which, upon inspection, were found not to be true.

The piggery has no less than 10,000 pigs. All their untreated wastes went directly to the sea.

The EMB 7 again ordered Multifarms on Tuesday to pay the P14.5-million fine within 15 days.