Iloilo bizman tagged for dumping expired drinks in Jaro River

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Iloilo City government has identified a Chinese-Filipino resident as the businessman behind the dumping of several sacks of expired bottled beverages into the Jaro River, as authorities prepare to file cases over improper waste disposal and environmental violations.

Engr. Neil Ravena, head of the General Services Office (GSO), said the businessman — reportedly in his 30s and a resident of Iloilo City — is associated with Gong Beverage Distribution OPC, a beverage distribution firm operating in the city.

The company, registered as a One Person Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, maintains an office and warehouse in Barangay Ticud, La Paz, one of the barangays straddling the Jaro River.

The company serves as a local distributor for major soft drink and bottled water brands, including Pepsi-Cola products.

Ravena said that during a technical conference on Thursday, June 18, the businessman admitted that about 67 sacks of expired commodities had been removed from his depot, with an estimated 500 more sacks still pending disposal.

The businessman also claimed the items were temporarily repackaged in sacks to facilitate their return to the bottling company.

“I questioned him because usually when you return a bad order, you do not remove it from the packaging or box, and that the same box will be retrieved with the same nature of packaging. But in his case, he already transferred in sacks,” he said.

“Those sacks that he said are the same sacks of recovery in Ticud and Baldoza, La Paz, along the Jaro River. The reason why we are able to trace him is because of that sack that is identical to the one left in his depot,” he added.

He said the businessman acknowledged that the recovered sacks matched those from his facility.

The businessman, however, later claimed that tricycle drivers may have taken the sacks without his knowledge and disposed of them.

“Later, his justification was that he left it outside the depot, and he alleged that there are tricycle drivers who took the sacks without his knowledge, and he claimed that the tricycle drivers were the ones who disposed of it without his knowledge,” he said.

CCTV footage from the businessman allegedly showed a driver transporting the sacks, but Ravena said they were “not convinced” of the justification.

“Why would you put it outside your property if you are planning to return the order? There are inconsistencies in his statement,” the GSO chief said.

“Even if you claim you were unaware, these are expired food products […] The responsibility lies on the generator himself,” he added.

The business has been operating in Iloilo City for nearly two years.

Ravena said he could not rule out the possibility that the establishment had improperly disposed of waste into the Jaro River before.

He added that while the businessman holds a valid business permit, authorities found that the establishment lacks environmental compliance documents, including a Certificate of Non-Coverage and an Environmental Compliance Certificate.

The Certificate of Non-Coverage and the Environmental Compliance Certificate are clearances issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to confirm that a project either falls outside the coverage of the environmental impact assessment system or has met its requirements; operating without either means a business is running without environmental clearance.

According to Ravena, representatives of the DENR who attended the technical conference affirmed that the businessman may have violated Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and Republic Act No. 9275, or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.

Republic Act No. 9003 governs the segregation, collection, and disposal of solid waste and penalizes open dumping, while Republic Act No. 9275 prohibits the discharge of pollutants into the country’s water bodies.

Although Iloilo City has an ordinance against illegal dumping, Ravena said authorities opted to pursue violations under national laws because they carry stiffer penalties and, unlike the city ordinance, do not provide a graduated penalty system that eases sanctions for first-time offenders.

The city government is expected to file charges before the end of June.

Aside from filing charges, Ravena said they were also considering recommending the revocation of the establishment’s business permit.

Since about 500 sacks of expired products remain at the facility, Ravena said they proposed handling the disposal on behalf of the owner to prevent the items from being dumped into the river.

The owner would need to shoulder the corresponding disposal and garbage fees.

“Coordinate with us because we could give advice and we could have a proper disposal mechanism for these products,” Ravena said, addressing other establishments that may be facing similar waste management concerns.

He warned that the improper disposal of expired products poses serious environmental and public health risks, including contamination of waterways and the possibility that discarded items could still be consumed despite being expired.

He said some individuals might retrieve the discarded bottles and resell them, potentially endangering consumers.