The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya, or National Power of Fisherfolk Movement in the Philippines)-Negros Island and the environmental group Hakson Inc called for accountability from Universal Robina Corporation (URC) for the ethanol spill from the URC Sugar and Renewables Group Distillery Plant in Bais City, Negros Oriental. The chemical spilled on October 24 into North Bais Bay, damaging 3,000 hectares of the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, one of the world’s most biodiverse marine ecosystems.
The spill reportedly occurred after the lagoon storing the URC’s ethanol collapsed. The company blamed the storage failure on successive earthquakes and heavy rains. In response, Hakson Inc said this was not a simple natural disaster, since the company has a decades-long record of unsafe waste and pollution management.
“It is the predictable outcome of a development model that prioritizes ethanol export and private gain over ecological safety,” Hakson Inc stated. It added that this disaster revealed not only the company’s negligence but also the deep contradictions of an economy that disregards the environment and the people.
The extent of the ethanol spill’s impact on Bais City residents and livelihoods prompted the local government to declare a “state of calamity.” The plant’s operations were also immediately suspended.
According to Pamalakaya-Negros Island, this affected the livelihoods of over 3,000 fisherfolk in Bais City and Manjuyod. The group consequently urged the government for immediate economic assistance and long-term compensation.
“Thousands of fisherfolk will surely take long to recover their livelihood…so local authorities and relevant government agencies must take swift action to help those who cannot go out to fish,” Pamalakaya-Negros Island chairperson Vincent Fernandez said.
The ethanol spill will poison the Tañon Strait’s rich waters and marine life. It is home to at least 14 species of cetaceans, including the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin, as well as turtles, whale sharks, and a variety of coral and seagrass species.
In light of these effects on the environment and livelihoods, Hakson Inc and Pamalakaya-Negros Island are demanding for URC to pay for Bais Bay’s full rehabilitation and the affected communities’ lost income.
