Groups call for probe on Cavite 'toxic incidents'

MANILA, Philippines - Environment and health activists called on authorities to conduct an open and exhaustive investigation into “toxic incidents” in Silang, Cavite, where almost 60 people, including children, fell ill.

The EcoWaste Coalition and Cavite Green Coalition jointly urged the newly created Task Force Cleanway to get to the bottom of the toxic pollution that knocked down residents of Barangay Maguyam in Silang town from Oct. 14 to 24.

The groups also pressed the local government to enforce the cease-and-desist order that Silang Mayor Clarito Poblete issued against Cleanway Technology Corp. (CTC), a hazardous and healthcare waste treatment facility, last Oct. 15. 

Poblete’s office reportedly received “numerous complaints” about the operation of the CTC plant at Meridian Industrial Park II. – Katherine Adraneda