Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. and San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza said the San Carlos Bioenery Inc. should take measures to stop the pollution it is causing.

Marañon said the pollution is affecting residents, the San Carlos City government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources should see to it that SCBI acts on the matter swiftly.

The air and water pollution from the plant has drawn numerous complaints from affected residents, he said.

Alminaza said he is suggesting that “all stakeholders and representatives of the affected sectors should come together to put our acts together and direct them to those that should be accountable, and come up with mutually acceptable measures.”

San Carlos Mayor Gerardo Valmayor Jr. Friday said he and the city's Sangguniang Panlungsod have also called on SCBI and the DENR to act on the pollution problem.

Jojo Salvador, SCBI spokesman, has assured that the firm is acting on the problem.

He said SCBI maintained a high level of production, thinking that with the hot weather that occurs during Holy Week, the waste water in their pond would not overflow. However, Salvador said the rains that hit caused the waste water to overflow into the canals and spill into the sea.

To solve the problem, he said, they pumped out the waste water from the canals into 20 fishponds on a 40-hectare property of Rep. Julio Ledesma IV (Neg. Occ., 1 st District), from whom they sought permission to prevent the waste from seeping out to the sea.

Since it is biodegradable, the waste water in five of the ponds had fully decomposed and the rest in 15 other ponds will also fully decompose in three weeks time, Salvador said.

Foul odor occurs during the decomposition process, he said.*CPG

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