Sustainability commitment: Grossly ignored?

The spent wash spill in the North Bais Bay is now grabbing headlines that even the current investigation on corruption cannot suppress it.

This crisis is so personal to me.  Though I’ve spent more than two-thirds of my life in Cebu, I was born and raised near foreshore in Barangay Tangculogan, Bais City. I was raised, primarily, from what my father earned as a farmworker during sugar milling season and as a fisherman in the offseason. Just like my father, I did the same on school-free days. Simply put, without the benefits from fishing, I couldn’t have finished college. Needless to say, I could have been one of those fisherfolks crying out at the gate of the Universal Robina Corporation (URC) for justice, not knowing when the next meal for my family shall come.

May I beg for your patience as I go down memory lane and try to chronicle what happened from fifty-two years ago to the present. United Planters Sugar Milling Company (UPSUMCO) was built in the early 70s. Starting commercial operation in 1973, we embraced the jobs it generated. Then a few months later, there was a fishkill. Ignorant as we were, we thought it was a curse from heaven. Only to realize later that it was due to the first release of the sugar mill’s effluents. Probably, however, the owners then were so conscientious and prevented it from happening again as fishing activities continued.

Then URC acquired UPSUMCO in 1988 and renamed it Universal Robina Sugar Milling Corporation (URSUMCO). For two decades, it seemed that the peace and productive co-existence enjoyed then with UPSUMCO was meant to last. Then, in November, 2014, URC inaugurated its ethanol plant at Barangay Tamisu, Bais City. Since its inception, the residents within the three-kilometer radius have been complaining of the foul smell coming from the ethanol plant and the dark effluents it releases to North Bais Bay.

Then, on the May 29, 2025, a massive release of the effluents happened. Informally, the fisherfolks (the most affected) were informed that the settling pond was compromised. Patience wearing thin, with me as the authorized representative, the members of KAGAMATA (Kapunongan sa Gagmay nga Mananagat sa Tangculogan) filed a complaint before the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on July 11, 2025.

Just as they thought they’ve already seen the worst, a more debilitating one reached the foreshore of Barangay Tangculogan on Saturday, October 25. To my grief, I was there on that very day it happened and have seen with my naked eyes a sea like used engine oil and a massive fishkill a hundred times worse than what I witnessed in 1973.

From the looks of it, it seems that the fishing ground is beyond repair. Lest we forget, this time, not only the fisherfolks are taking the hit, families that are tourism industry-reliant are, likewise, in the receiving end. Yes, as the much-ballyhooed Manjuyod Sandbar (touted as the Maldives in the Philippines) is now slowly turning dark red or almost black and is declared off-limits to tourists.

Whether the fishing ground and the sandbar can be restored to what they used to be, no one knows. If it can be, how long? In the meantime, the fisherfolks’ families, some of whom are on hand to mouth existence, will skip some meals and their kids will miss their classes. Yet, as I write this piece, the support they got is coming from the LGUs. So far, the offer of URC is just two sacks of rice per barangay. With over a hundred families affected in some barangays, I don’t know how long it will last. Please do the math.

It is quite sad that this man-made calamity is happening in North Bais Bay. It is so disgusting to know that both the sugar mill and the ethanol plant (the culprits) are owned by URC, a publicly listed company. It is more revolting to realize that it is a core subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings Inc., one of the country’s largest conglomerates that also owned Robinsons Land Corporation and Cebu Air, Inc. (Cebu Pacific).

Truth be told, the Philippine Stock Exchange mandates sustainability reporting for listed companies on a "comply or explain" basis, as outlined in its 2019 guidance. True enough, URC, in its website detailed its 2024 sustainability report. It says, “Over the years, sustainability at URC has become more than just compliance, but a responsibility to protect and create lasting value for our people, communities, and planet.” The same report stressed that one of its focus areas is “Natural Resources – embedding resource efficiency into our operations, optimizing energy and water use while minimizing waste.” Really? Clearly, the crisis the fisherfolks in Bais City and the Municipality of Manjuyod now endure prove otherwise.

Agreeably though, factories in the countryside are providing livelihood to the rural folks.  Obviously, it prevents rural exodus. However, we can’t just simply provide wages to a few and kill the livelihood of the rest. Simply put, all of us must realize that, in everything that we undertake, the only way to be sustainable is to be responsible.