Officials issue warning about dangerous contamination impacting seafood supply: 'Under active threat'

Officials warned against harvesting seafood in the waters of Bais and Manjuyod in Negros Oriental after an ethanol distillery plant discharged millions of gallons of wastewater into one of the Philippines' largest marine protected areas, according to Mongabay. 

What's happening?

On Oct. 24, a wall holding back wastewater at an ethanol distillery owned by Philippine food and beverage conglomerate Universal Robina Corporation (URC) collapsed. It leaked 67 million gallons of wastewater into Bais Bay, an important fishing ground and tourism hub that is part of the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape. 

URC said in a statement to The Manila Times that "earthquake-induced cracks, exacerbated by unexpected continuous heavy rains the past few days," caused the collapse.

Why is this important?

While the Philippines experiences abundant rainfall and is susceptible to typhoons due to its geographic location and tropical climate, rising global temperatures are exacerbating extreme weather patterns — and the URC Ethanol Distillery Plant leak serves as a warning of what could continue to occur in the Philippines and elsewhere without sufficient adaptation and mitigation. 

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) estimated that the leak resulted in 3,000 fishers losing their ability to operate as usual. Tourist activities such as whale watching also ground to a halt due to "water discoloration and foul odor," per the government release, further disrupting the local economy. 

What's being done about this?

In the aftermath of the spill, the DENR-EMB said URC should immediately stop operations, compensate fisherfolk, and restore the impacted areas, according to the government release. 

URC complied with the cease-and-desist order, and it expected to complete rehabilitation by Nov. 4. Nonetheless, Oceana suggested URC shouldn't get away with "a slap on the wrist" and should pay the "highest price" for its act of "corporate negligence." 

The nonprofit said a similar incident occurred in 2018, and URC paid only "minor fines," suggesting that this spill casts further doubt on its commitment to environmental compliance and conservation. 

"The beauty, bounty, and ecological integrity of Tañon Strait is under active threat," Oceana said. "The spill can affect the nutrient cycling and food web stability of the protected area, and cause long-lasting damage to its benthic habitats, coral reefs, and seagrass beds."

"Oceana demands that URC and the concerned government agencies act with greater urgency and transparency to clean up this mess, initiate preventive measures to stop the continuing spread of ethanol pollution to neighboring areas, compensate the victims justly and fully for loss of income and livelihoods, and ensure that such a disaster never happens again," it added. 

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