SAN SIMON, Pampanga – Residents here long complaining of being smothered with smoke from steel plants heaved a sigh of collective relief late last week as their mayor beat the deadline to sign into local law an anti-pollution ordinance passed by the town council last Feb. 2.
Mayor Abundio “JP” Punsalan Jr. signed Sangguniang Bayan Ordinance No. ‘23-003 titled “Strengthening the Modernization of Smelting Metal Scrap Ordinance” on Feb. 16. This, after the local council revised the ordinance in its Feb. 13 session in response to the chief executive’s manifesto describing the ordinance as “vague” and sought a definition of the terms used for “clarity.”
Principal to the additions to the revised measure was the prohibition of the use of induction furnaces (IF) in the smelting of metal scraps defined in the ordinance as “an electrical furnace in which the heat is applied by induction heating of metal.”
In the council hearing leading to the formulation of the ordinance, Melters Steel Corp., Real Steel Corp., and Wan Chiong Steel Corp. reported using IF in smelting scrap metals. The three firms were among the five pinpointed by residents as emitting large volume of smoke. The other two, Altima Empire Steel Corp. and SKK Steel Corp., use electric arc furnaces.
According to the ordinance, the ban on the use of IF “will let steel plants upgrade to modern production machinery and equipment attuned to environment-protective technology.”
Under Section 13 of the ordinance, steel companies in the municipality that will modernize their facilities and put anti-pollution safeguards in place will get a discount in business tax payments for three years and another discount on their real property tax and other regulatory fees imposed by the municipality, also for three years.
The local council gave Punsalan the mandate to issue the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the ordinance.
The mayor, according to media reports during the weekend, said the IRR would only be “ready after two years when the grace period of two years is over.”
The action of the local government unit came in the wake of reports of respiratory and skin ailments among residents and rusting roofs in at least five barangays near the steel plants.
In January, the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources created a team to investigate Wan Chiong and Melters plants in response to a formal complaint lodged by residents.
In a subsequent meeting at the EMB, the concerned steel plants “committed” to upgrade their pollution control devices. Punto News Team
