ABUCAY, Bataan – A town councilor and farmers on Tuesday questioned the dumping of ashes from a papermill on hilly land and even at the materials recovery facility (MRF) in an upland sitio here.
Claiming the materials were toxic, councilor Jason Marcelo, sangguniang bayan chairman of the committee on environment, and the farmers showed white and black ash dumped at a private land adjacent to the MRF, some five kilometers from the Roman Highway.
The Abucay SB member and farmer Rosauro Baino, 62, said rains the past days have brought the ashes down the rivers and creeks. “Pagkaulan, bumababa ang abo sa saug (creek) papunta sa ilog ng Capitangan,” Baino said.
The Capitangan River extends to the MacArthur Highway down to Manila Bay.
“Kasarap-sarap dito, lumaki kami ng walang ganyan,” the old farmer said pointing to the ashes.
Marcelo said representatives from Bataan 2020, a papermill company in Samal, Bataan, showed certification from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Environment Management Bureau that the ashes were not toxic.
“Para sa amin toxic dahil mga residente nangangati at mabaho ang abo,” the councilor said. “Sinusudsod pababa ang abo kaya papunta sa ilog. Bumababaw mga ilog. Abo papunta sa kabayanan, sa dagat. May ilang hayop daw na uminom ng katas, namatay. Nagtatae hayop. Nangangati mga bata.”
He said that during the summer months, the health of residents will be affected by the dust from the ashes. He added that even the spring water was affected. “Naapektuhan na sibul na pinag-iigiban,” he said while showing the dirty water from a spring below the hill where the ashes were dumped.
Teresita Morales, 68, said her goats were affected: “Nagtae kambing ko matapos makainom ng tubig mula sa sibul.”
“Dati iniinom namin. Dito kami kumukuha ng pangluto, panglaba, panligo. Masarap ang tubig na ito. Lahat dito namin kinukuha pero hindi na buhat nang magtapon ng abo at mag-uulan,” she added.
She claimed that even water from the creek near her hut was already dirty: “Naligo ako kahapon. Makati. Nakatihan ako. Paliguan yon. Dati walang nararamdaman dahil malinis. Ngayon marumi kaya sa bayan ako naghuhugas.”
Marcelo said ashes were dumped at the MRF last week after the trucks were not able to go up in the private land because of the slippery road caused by the rains.
He said the MRF foreman reasoned out that the ashes were used as cover for the wastes at the facility.
“Sabi ko hindi ayos, hindi maganda dahil nakakapinsala sa kailugan, sa kabukiran, bumababaw ang ilog. Una, sinisira nito ang kalikasan, pinapatay ang mga halaman. Bumababa ang toxic sa kanal, sa ilog na naiinom ng mga hayop. Merong ilang asong nangamatay,” Marcelo said.
He said he wanted the dumping of ashes in the MRF and even in the private land be stopped.
“Malaking perhuwisyo sa magsasaka lalong-lalo na sa mga residente. Paano na kung ganitong tag-ulan na umaagos yan papunta sa kanal, sa ilog hanggang sa karagatan. Mamamatay ang mga isda. Maraming mga bata ang maapektuhan ang kalusugan lalo na kung tag-araw dahil sa alikabok,” he said.
The councilor said he does not believe that the ashes are good as fertilizers: “Kung makakatulong yan, sana pinag-aagawan ng bawat bayan. Bakit tinanggihan sa Orani, sa Samal? Dapat sa Samal pa lang pinagyaman na nila yan.”
Orani is a neighboring town of Samal where the papermill is located.
Marcelo said almost 20 truckloads of ashes have been dumped daily in the area for about two months.
“Malaki ang epekto sa aming magsasaka dahil dito kami kumukuha ng patubig. Kung saka-sakali na malalason ang aming patubig, mamamatay ang aming palayan at mga halamang itatanim namin,” said Lourdes Mamalateo, secretary-general of Alyansa ng Maliliit na Magsasaka ng Bataan.
She claimed that residents and farmers affected are from the villages of Salian, Gabon and Capitangan, all in Abucay.
“Sana matulungan kami para magkaroon ng solusyon ang problema naming ito tungkol sa basurang itinatapon ng Bataan 2020,” she pleaded.
Jose Erickson Rodriguez, Bataan 2020 supervisor, in a telephone call at the plant’s guard house said he will inform his superiors about the problem of the farmers. He hinted that the ashes were not toxic.
Engr. Ernesto Vergara, Abucay municipal administrator, in a text message said the hauler of Bataan 2020 was with complete documents, including environmental compliance certificate and that the ashes were not toxic.
DENR”s provincial chief Raul Mamac was in a meeting and could not be bothered when sought for comment. He said later he will have it investigated.
