THE local government of San Simon ordered the closure of a cattle farm in Barangay San Pablo Libutad Friday, July 26, 2019 following incessant complaints from residents in the area.
Mayor Abundio “Jun” Punsalan, Jr. personally served the cease and desist order on D’ Meters Field Corporation which sits right in the middle of a residential community. The farm is also adjacent to a public elementary school.
Punsalan said the closure order stemmed from the alleged numerous violations of environment and health laws, including the Philippine Clean Air Act and local Health Sanitation ordinance.
“For how many years inirereklamo ito, mabaho daw. Since 2007, marami ng nagkasakit na mga residente, mga teachers at mga estudyante dito sa eskwelahan kaya kinailangan na talagang aksyunan ito,” he said.
(The residents have been complaining because of the foul smell. Since 2007, residents, teachers and students have fallen ill. We need to act on these complaints.)
Punsalan ordered the village chief to strictly monitor the activities of the farm and ensure that there will be no live cows as well as feeds and cow-raising items that will enter its premises while the closure order is effective.
“Iyong mga baka na andyan na, hindi naman natin pwedeng patapon so alisin nalang nila dito. Pero wala ng operation, wala ng papasok na baka at feeds, ipapamonitor ko iyan kay kapitan at sa mga residente dito,” he said.
D’ Meters Field Corporation manager Mark Jerome Ingal, who received the closure order, said that they were complying with the requirements of the municipal government.
“Nasa proseso na po kami ng pag-comply doon sa requirements na hinihingi ng munisipyo. Actually nasa 80 percent na kami ngayon, lalo na at nandito na iyong water treatment facility namin,” he said.
The water treatment station is a seven-stage natural facility developed in-house by D’ Meters Field Corporation where all wastewater will pass through and be processed until properly broken down into fertilizer.
This is a system that is said to have surpassed the usual and recommended three-stage wastewater treatment facilities for livestock farms such as theirs.
Ingal expressed hope that Punsalan and the local government will reconsider the order once the management finally complies with the requirements and fulfilled their housekeeping activities.
Meanwhile, around 400 employees of D’ Meters Field Corporation are now worried of being totally displaced following the closure order issued to their employer.
One of them is 60-year-old Eddie David, who’s a farm employee for a decade. He expressed fear that he might never find another job, considering his age, if his employer will not be allowed to operate again.
“Nakakalungkot po ang biglaang pagsasara ng aming trabaho. Ang isa pang ikinababahala pa po namin ay baka wala ng ibang tumanggap sa amin dahil siyempre matanda na ako at ilan sa mga kasamahan ko,” he said.
The employees who were affected by the abrupt closure of the cattle farm are now seeking the assistance of the local government for a possible job employment, especially that most of them are breadwinners of their family.