Ex-mayor hits environmental violations

CEBU, Philippines — The former mayor of Palompon, Leyte has scored the environmental violations allegedly committed by the incumbent mayor’s poultry businesses in the town and in other areas.

Former mayor Georgina Arevalo said that despite the congressional inquiry, Palompon Mayor Ramon Oñate’s chicken businesses have been affecting the environment and the people living in the town and other areas.

The FREEMAN sought Arevalo’s reaction to an article, which was published in the paper recently, about the claims of Oñate that his poultry businesses have complied with all the environmental requirements.

Arevalo, who was the mayor of Palompon from 2019 to 2022, said that it was during her term as the town’s chief executive that complaints from her constituents against Oñate’s poultry business in the town started to reach her attention.

“It was just only in 2019 that complaints started coming in. Ingon lagi ko nga nganong karon pa man mo nag-complain. Ingon sila ‘ikaw na man’ (ang mayor). They complained to me and then mao na gihimoan og imbestigasyon,” Arevalo recalled.

She said Oñate’s poultry businesses in three areas have been the subject of the complaints and that the one in Barangay Lat-osan in Palompon has been closed following a raid by the National Bureau of Investigation early this year.

“Ang nahitabo nahimoan og title, na-loan og kadaghan. And then here comes NBI I think it was February (or) January this year na-raid na siya and it’s closed now kasi they found out nga ang kani diay nga lot is talagang forestland. So it’s an ongoing case by the NBI,” she said.

“Now makadungog mi og estorya nga mo-insist gyud sila (Oñate’s camp) nga dili gyud siya forestland or naay lain iingon si Oñate nga ‘wa ko kahibawo kay clean buyer ko’ or innocent buyer siya. How can you be an innocent buyer nga ikaw man ang nagpatitulo. So you already know and as mayor siguro you know kon unsay forestland sa imong munisipyo.”

Arevalo said that during her time as mayor, Oñate’s poultry business in Lat-osan was the subject of a complaint sent to broadcaster now Senator Raffy Tulfo by some constituents because of the influx of flies during harvest.

The former mayor claimed that during Tulfo’s interview with her, it was found out that Oñate’s business had some irregularities. She cited as example the location of Oñate’s poultry along the national highway which is allegedly a violation of the law.

“Naa man gud na siya sa national highway dapit which should not be. Ang gibutang man gud sa ilang papeles is unknown road when in fact it is Palompom-Isabel National Road. So how can you say it’s an unknown road. And then bawal na siya kay gisukod man sa sanitario and then the sanitary inspector told me that it was 26 meters from the road when it should be kong sa Sanitary Code pa na it’s 500 meters man siguro,” she said.

“Mao ning hitaboa sa one area lang na. So until now sirado na ang Lat-osan (poultry farm) (gipasira) sa NBI. Nag-start lang to langaw nga complaint ang then nakit-an nga forestland diay na. Misulod na ang EMB (Environmental Management Bureau) and it turns out daghan diay violation and then wala diay proper waste disposal, wala silay permit for the disposal,” she added.

As for Oñate’s dressing plant in Albuera, Leyte, Arevalo alleged that some of the residents there have complained against the foul smell, saying that she does not understand why no one (from concerned government agencies) interviewed the people living in the area despite the fact that the complaints were raised many years ago.

Arevalo, who is a medical doctor, claimed that the waste from the Albuera dressing plant is being transported to Palompon. But before reaching Palompon, the waste would pass through Ormoc City and other areas, she said

“We have to understand nga kana siya moagi og Ormoc. Mobaho inig agi kay mo-spill man ang waste niya. Moagi og Isabel usahay, moagi og Matag-ob usahay, mangasuko ang mga tawo kay makabaho man gud sila og naay waste. Didto ilabay sa Barangay San Joaquin, (Palompon)  (sa) land nga na-acquire niya (Oñare),” she said.

Arevalo claimed that in San Joaquin, which is a watershed area, the water has been contaminated and is no longer usable.

Oñate’s claims

In an article appeared in The FREEMAN on June 25, 2023, Oñate claimed that his poultry business – DBSN Farms Agriventures Corporation – followed environmental guidelines, denying allegations that it has been transporting chicken waste from Albuera to his breeder farm in Palompon.

“As a breeder farm, we only dispose our chicken waste, mainly chicken manure at the end of the breeding cycle, which is after 42 weeks from the start of the operation,” Oñate was quoted in the article as saying. “We also have a regulated and designated soil conditioner containment area (compost pit) for chicken manure with an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the EMB-Region 8 of the DENR-8.”

The mayor however admitted that DBSN, in the early years of its operations, was penalized by the DENR-Region 8 for improper waste disposal. He said this prompted him to invest over a hundred million pesos to put up a 2,500-square-meter wastewater treatment plant inside the DBSN plant in Albuera, Leyte.

“Wastewater treatment and disposal systems are designed to remove contaminants and pollutants from wastewater before it is released back into the environment. The process involves several stages to ensure the water is clean and safe for the ecosystem and human health,” he said.

The article stated that an official of the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was even impressed with DBSN’s wastewater management and disposal plant.

Congressional inquiry

The controversies surrounding Oñate’s poultry businesses have been the subject of a congressional investigation this year.

Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez had filed a resolution seeking for a probe into the operations of Oñate’s DBSN Farms for alleged environmental violations, saying Oñate should answer the allegations against him.

Gomez also wanted criminal and administrative charges filed against Palompon officials for alleged environmental and land violations.

The lawmaker is also asking update from the DENR on the measures undertaken against the pollution of air, soil and water in the town.

For his part, Oñate said that the allegations against him are just a form of political harassment, a claim Gomez denied. —  (FREEMAN)