Arrested piggery owner now free

CEBU, Philippines — The owner and three employees of a piggery in San Fernando town who are facing charges for violation of environmental laws are now free after posting the recommended bails.

Operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation filed on Wednesday criminal complaints before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office against Multi-farms Agro Industrial Corp. owner Santiago Tan Chan III and his employees – Rosalio Aguanta, Jayson Fritz Aguanta, and Jeramil Sabala.

Tan Chan and the other three were arrested on Tuesday following the implementation of two search warrants at Sitio Baho, Barangay Sangat, San Fernando town amid complaints from residents that the piggery was producing foul odor.

State prosecutor Ryan Gingoyon recommended the filing of three Informations before the court for a violation of Republic Act 9275 or Philippine Clean Water Act with P24,000 bail recommended for each count and Republic Act 8550 or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 with P48,000 bail recommended, which was approved by the provincial prosecutor.

NBI-7 assistant director Dominador Cimafranca said the four were released from custody on Wednesday night after they were able to post the recommended bail for four cases.

The legal office of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Central Visayas leaves to the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) in Manila to decide over the fate of the controversial pig farm.

Lawyer Unalee Monares, EMB-7 legal division chief, said he told PAB on Wednesday that the owners or operators have not yet settled the P14.5-billion penalty imposed on Multi-farms Agro Industrial Corp.

“Mitawag ko sa PAB gahapon, wala pa man daw mibayad. (I called PAB office yesterday but reportedly the owners have not yet paid the fine)… It’s up to the PAB to decide on that,” he told The FREEMAN.

PAB, a quasi-judicial body under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, earlier ordered the pig farm owners to pay the accumulated fine of P14.5 million.

The order was coursed through EMB-7 which was directed to serve the printed copy last February 13, said Monares. The owners were given at least 10 days upon the receipt of the order for the payment.

Monares said the piggery farm owners only had until February 23 to settle the fine.

He, however, said the owners were also given a leeway of 15 days from February 13 to file an appeal against the PAB decision.

Monares said he is not privy whether the owners have filed an appeal because it is supposed to be lodged before the Court of Appeals.

The piggery farm was fined for violating an existing environmental law, particularly Republic Act 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.

Monares cited a certain provision, specifically Section 27 of the law, wherein the wastewater discharges of the large-scale pig farm failed to meet the DENR standards.

EMB-7 director Engr. William Cuñado earlier said the pig farm actually has its own wastewater treatment facility. The problem lies on the efficiency of the equipment, which is supposed to clean the polluted water before it is discharged to the open seas.

But water quality monitoring there indicated that the samples of the effluent water “exceeded” or failed to meet the standard.

Monares said the pig farm has been reportedly operating before the 1980s. He said the PAB case originated in 1995.

He said the penalty has accumulated to millions because it took years for the pig farm to address the violation.

Monares said there was also a delay on the case because PAB handles several cases and also, the composition of the board is changed whenever the DENR secretary is replaced. (FREEMAN)