Tuesday, June 10, 2008 Avila calls for probe on coco sludge spill By Grace L. Plata
THE City Council committee on environment and natural resources will conduct an inquiry into the coco oil sludge spill within this month, committee chair Councilor Leonardo R. Avila III said.
An estimated 1,500 liters of coconut oil sludge from Bio Energy 8, a coconut processing plant owned by the Zubiris at Km. 10 in Sasa, reportedly spilled into the Davao Gulf Saturday after days of heavy rain.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), however, assured that they have immediately stalled the spread of the spill on the same day.
Avila said he already asked a copy of the incident report from the PCG and the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (EMB-DENR) to use as background for the planned hearing on the matter.
Aside from identifying the sludge source and the legal sanctions for it, Avila said the committee wants to meet owners and administrators of factories operating along the Sasa area to talk about compliance to safety regulations.
Avila aims to have "mitigating measures and community response strengthened" as output of the committee hearing.
