For more than a quarter of a century, the largest food and beverage company in the Philippines has allegedly reneged on its promises to the residents of Quebiawan, a village in Pampanga. Worse, the company’s operations have allegedly destroyed the village’s sources of water.

BY RONALD B. ESCANLAR
Bulatlat

QUEBIAWAN, Pampanga -- If there's any truth in advertising, then San Miguel Corp. (SMC), the country's largest food-and-beverage company, has been lying for 25 years.

Residents of Quebiawan, a village in San Fernando, Pampanga, have been at the receiving end of wastes generated by SMC's brewery and chicken-dressing plant at the company’s San Fernando complex, Pampanga some 60 kms north of Manila.

Studies made by the Quezon City-based Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines (CEC) showed that water in the area is no longer safe for human use. The studies indicated that the community's sources of drinking water were contaminated with fecal coliform bacteria. The CEC acquired samples of water from the local water district, public wells and private household pumps.

CEC executive director Frances Quimpo last week said the issues confronting Quebiawan residents were not only environmental in scope, but political as well, since the government staunchly supported big industries such as SMC, headed by businessman Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, Jr.

"The problem is not a simple case of corporate environmental abuse, although that is already serious,” Quimpo explained. “The greater problem is how the people have been marginalized in the enjoyment of natural bounties when giant industries like SMC lord over and abuse the natural resources that should be reserved for the people, such as the case with the water resources in Quebiawan."

Legally bound

The CEC director reiterated that SMC was legally bound to implement a Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) pre-condition in converting farms into industrial use. A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) actually exists between SMC, the residents, and the former owner of the land.

The MoA, signed way back in 1979, stipulates that SMC shall prioritize Quebiawan residents in hiring employees, in addition to providing facilities for potable water and measures to keep the Quebiawan creek from pollution.

SMC failed to keep these commitments after a quarter of a century. Fed up, the residents formed the community organization Quebiawan Muna (Quebiawan First), which is headed by labor leader and former Magnolia employee Roy Manalo.

Manalo stated that for the first few years, SMC kept its promise. Former ortelanos (the Kapampangan word for farmers) were hired to man the San Fernando complex.

Stinking creek

However, SMC eventually reneged on the agreement and was soon maximizing its use of the creek and minimizing its use of state-prescribed anti-pollution measures, Manalo said.

Marina Bie, a longtime resident, recalled that before SMC came, residents would drink directly from the creek. Nowadays, the creek is fetid or "matabsing" (smelly) as she would describe.

Manalo added that in the past, farmers were able to harvest three times a year. Now, the small number of farmers in the area are lucky to harvest at all.

At the time of Bulatlat’s inspection, the creek was glossy black -- deathly in its appearance and deadly in its smell. Sometimes, the creek is brownish; sometimes, it turns blue, the residents said.

Ivor Salisi, Quebiawan Muna secretary, attests that the SMC's plants usually release fumes at night and when it rains. Galvanized roofs in the area easily rust, Salisi complained.

Moreover, most youths in Quebiawan couldn’t find work at the SMC, ending up instead as contractuals either in construction sites or fastfood joints. “Even the smart ones fail to get a job at SMC,” said Michelle Castro, the Quebiawan Muna treasurer who is in her late teens.

Water samples

Quebiawan Muna sought help from the CEC, which conducted a study of Quebiawan's water resources in coordination with the National Engineering Center of the University of the Philippines-Diliman and the Samahang Nagtataguyod ng Agham at Teknolohiya Para sa Sambayanan (Agham), an organization of scientists advocating science and technology for the people.

Water samples taken from the main wastewater outlet of SMC registered 8,800 milligram per liter (mg/L) of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), about five times higher than the allowable 2,000 mg/L of TDS based on Administrative Order No. 35 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). It also recorded a Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) of 67 mg/L, triple the 1995 recorded BOD of the polluted Pasig river between 10.4 to 19.3 mg/L.

"These results strongly suggest that water in the creek is definitely polluted and the presence of SMC and other industries discharging waste into the creek are indicative of the degraded condition of the creek," said CEC's Januar Ong.

Samples collected from the water supplied by the San Fernando water district also failed potability tests. Seven out of 12 samples of drinking water show that potable water in the community, from time to time, may not be safe to drink. The Philippine National Standard on Drinking Water (PNSDW) prescribes a total coliform count (TCC) of 0 for every 100 mL or water. Results showed that the average TCC of the water samples tested is 8, with the highest at 23. The TDS of the potable water samples taken from the water district also registered a high of 2,370 mg/L. The standard TDS for drinking water, based on the PNSDW, is 500 mg/L.

SMC, according to records of the National Water Resources Board, holds 10 groundwater water permits in its San Fernando complex, drawing a total of more than 400 liters per second.

Manalo says that Quebiawan, a former sugarcane hacienda, considers water as its most important resource.

Lack of political will

Manalo bewailed the fact that their barangay chairman, Lionel Pamintuan, remained deaf and blind to the issues confronting the residents. Pamintuan is on his third and final term as chairman of the village.

Incidentally, the city government of San Fernando is embarking on a grand scale to rehabilitate its rivers. However, the absence of Quebiawan creek among its priority waterways for rehabilitation somehow reflects its lack of political will to confront giant corporate taxpayers, such as SMC, to toe the environmental line.

Ong says that aside from SMC, there are two more companies that dump their wastes on the narrow Quebiawan creek.

So far, SMC has refused to meet representatives of Quebiawan Muna. On Oct. 20, the group staged a protest rally in front of the SMC San Fernando Complex. Among their demands:

• priority in employment
• distribution of free, clean, and potable water among the residents of Quebiawan
• rehabilitation of the Quebiawan creek
• adherence to environmentally-sound procedures in disposing wastewater and smoke
• consultation with residents in erecting new plants and factories
• support for free irrigation facilities
• continued support in resolving problems that the community will face in the future
• recognition of Quebiawan Muna as the legitimate and legal organization in dealing with issues affecting the community

It seemed, however, that SMC does not value its relationship with Quebiawan residents, belying its most popular slogan, "Iba ang may pinagsamahan." The protest, which started at eight in the morning, was peacefully dispersed at around 11. There were no SMC representatives in sight, only security guards. Bulatlat 

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