Marcos Orders Complaint Filed vs Distillery over Molasses Spill in Tañon Strait

Marcos orders complaint filed vs distillery over molasses spill in Tañon Strait

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, November 5, ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to investigate the wastewater spill in the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape (TSPS) and to bring the Bais Distillery to court. The distillery, owned by the Gokongwei’s Universal Robina Corporation, is the source of the organic molasses spill on October 26. “That’s why our legal team now is pre…

Ethanol plant spills harmful wastewater into Philippine marine reserve

A chemical spill from an ethanol distillery has put one of the Philippines’ largest marine protected areas at risk. A wall retaining the wastewater pond of an ethanol distillery plant collapsed on Oct. 24, causing about 255,000 cubic meters (67 million gallons) of wastewater to flow into Bais Bay in the central Philippines, according to […]

Fishers demand justice, accountability after ethanol spill devastates Bais Bay

MANILA — A massive ethanol wastewater spill originating from the facility of Universal Robina Corporation (URC) in Bais City, Negros Oriental has crippled coastal livelihoods and killed thousands of fish. Fishers and environmental groups say the disaster exposes regulatory failures and the urgent need to treat such incidents as human-rights and economic-justice crises, not only technical accidents. On October 26, a dike at what URC describes as …