Sugar central accused of pollution but mill management denies raps

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – About 500 residents of Canetown Subdivision located within the Victoria’s Milling Co. (VMC) sugar central compound in Victorias City, Negros Occidental sought the help of Task Force Kasanag national commander John Chiong in their complaint against pollution allegedly spewed by the sugar central.

Chiong said the complaint signed by a certain Regoberto Soriano on behalf of the 500 residents was submitted to the TFK complaint desk at their headquarters here.

Chiong said he will bring the matter to the attention of Department of Enviroment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu.

TFK is a civil society group that advocates against criminalities, injustices, illegal drugs and other illegal activities and is a partner of the Anti- Red Tape Authority.

In a statement, VMC management said the sugar mill has been compliant with environmental laws.

VMC Pollution Control Officer Malyn Apacible said the sugar mill has passed DENR assessments and even established a multipartite monitoring team that will keep tabs of the mill’s compliance.

“Based on the last environmental assessment conducted by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, tests showed that Victorias Milling Company, Inc. has been compliant with the environmental standards set by the agency. VMC has been seriously addressing environment concerns in our mill and have invested heavily in pollution control mechanisms,” the VMC statement said.

The sugar central also invited journalists to visit the mill and find out for themselves the real situation in the area “in the spirit of transparency and fairness.”

Chiong said that the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Victorias tackled the complaint and came up with a resolution asking the DENR to act on the matter.

The SP resolution attached to the complaint claimed that residents experienced the pollution for almost four decades.

It also said that a series of meetings have been held between representatives of the sugar central together with non-government organizations but no solution has been reached.