This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 11, April 24-30, 2005
San Miguel Corporation, a
food and beverage giant, faces the wrath of residents as it is accused of
polluting the water source of a community where its industrial complex is
located. BY RONALD B. ESCANLAR SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga - Through the years,
all commercials of San Miguel Beer, flagship product of San Miguel Corporation
(SMC), have one thing in common. They all espouse friendship and camaraderie,
not to mention the virtues of helping one another in times of need. It is therefore surprising that a community
now accuses SMC of polluting a creek and of ignoring the residents’ demand to
rectify the situation. Indeed, residents of Quebiawan in San Fernando, Pampanga
some 60 kms north of Manila, are not at all pleased with the way things are
going between them and the San Fernando brewery and chicken-dressing complex of
SMC. On Oct. 20, 2004, members of Quebiawan Muna
(Quebiawan First), a grassroots organization of Quebiawan residents, staged a
picket at the gates of the San Fernando Brewery Complex to protest the pollution
of Quebiawan creek, the village's main water source. Quebiawan Muna president Roy Manalo, a
former employee of the Magnolia chicken-dressing plant at the complex, said
SMC's actions were in clear violation of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed
between SMC, the residents and the former landowner in 1979. Manalo said the MoA stipulated that SMC
should prioritize Quebiawan residents in hiring employees, in addition to
providing facilities for potable water and to keeping the creek free from
pollution. Upon the request of Quebiawan Muna, the
Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC) made a study of the village's water
resources with help from the National Engineering Center (NEC) and the Samahang
Nagtataguyod ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Sambayanan (Agham), an organization
of scientists advocating people-centered science and technology. The studies showed that water in the area
failed potability tests. The samples were taken from the local water district,
public wells and private household pumps. Samples taken from the main wastewater
outlet of SMC contained 8,800 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of total dissolved
solids (TDS). This is five times higher than the prescribed 2,000 mg/L of TDS in
Administrative Order No. 35 of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR). The samples also recorded a Biochemical
Oxygen Demand (BOD) of 67 mg/L. This is three times more than the recorded BOD
in 1995 of the already polluted Pasig River which was between 10.4 to 19.3 mg/L. Earlier this year, Quebiawan Muna
successfully blocked a wastewater discharge tunnel of SMC for a week. The action
effectively shut down plant operations, said Manalo. "Sinara nga namin iyung dinadaluyan ng
tubig papunta dun sa creek, ang San Miguel tunnel, para maobliga ang San Miguel
na humarap sa amin at mapag-usapan ang mga demands namin’ (We blocked the
San Miguel tunnel that discharged wastewater into the creek to force San Miguel
to face us regarding our demands.), Manalo said. Incidentally, the flagship project of the
city government of San Fernando is "Sagip-Ilog (Rescue the River)," a plan to
revive the San Fernando River, which flows behind the city hall. In an interview, Connie Morga, community
affairs officer, said the latest water analysis report of the environmental
management bureau was done in 2003. The report classified the San Fernando River
as a “class C” river. This means that the river cannot support marine life due
to high levels of pollution. The city government has recently passed
Ordinance No. 2003-009 that prohibits the disgorging of domestic, agricultural
and industrial wastes into the city's river and various creeks, including
Quebiawan Creek. Morga said there were already plans to
update data on the level of pollution in the city's waterways. The city government facilitated a series of
dialogues between SMC officials and Quebiawan Muna. Based on the minutes of the meetings
obtained by Bulatlat, both parties talked last March 31 and agreed to
resolve four issues, which are priority of employment; rehabilitation of the
creek, including rip-rapping of the creek side; provision of potable water
supply for residential and agricultural use; and assistance for roofs damaged by
pollution caused by the plant's operations. Quebiawan Muna was represented by Manalo,
Crispin Tandog, Jr. and Ivor Salisi. Quebiawan barangay kagawad (village
councilor) Oliver Cunanan was also present during the proceedings. SMC was
represented by lawyer Mike Carillo, Vic E. Quizon, and Roy Siojo.
Hydro-geologist Lea Bron-Sikat attended the meeting as a resource person. Bron-Sikat said that SMC extracted water
from wells that were approximately 800 feet deep. Since the wells being tapped
by Quebiawan residents were approximately 80 feet deep, she said that it was
very unlikely that SMC affected Quebiawan's water sources. She countered the CEC study, saying that the
water pollution in Quebiawan was very unlikely caused by SMC, since this might
be due to other factors such as human and animal wastes that contaminate the
village's shallow wells. Manalo said the dialogues sponsored by the
city government were getting nowhere. After two months of meetings, Manalo said
they have not resolved even just one of the four issues. "Malinaw na ilang beses na kaming
nagne-negosasyon dito, hanggang sa ngayon pinag-uusapan pa ang employment”
(It is clear that we have been negotiating for some time, until now we are still
talking about employment), Manalo explained. At the April 21 meeting between the SMC and
Quebiawan Muna, the latter staged a walkout after sensing a deadlock. City
Administrator Fer Caylao consequently requested a private meeting involving a
representative from each side. Manalo said they have agreed to conclude the
dialogues, and for SMC to present a concrete plan on April 28. If they are not
satisfied with SMC’s proposed plan, Manalo said that they would go to Congress
to seek redress. Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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Pampanga Residents Accuse SMC of Water Pollution
BulatlatUnkept promises
Polluted water sources
Forcing SMC to the table
4 talking points still unresolved
Taking the issue to Congress