Manila: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has initiated legal action against Universal Robina Corp. - Sugar and Renewables (URC-SURE) Bais Distillery for alleged environmental violations following a wastewater spill into the Ta±on Strait Protected Seascape.

According to Philippines News Agency, DENR - Negros Island Region Executive Director Charlie Fabre announced that the complaints were filed with the Bais City prosecutor's office on November 21. The allegations involve URC-SURE's officers during the time of the spill, citing breaches of Republic Act 11038, known as the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Act of 2018. The specific infractions are detailed under paragraphs f, n, and o of Section 18 of the Act.

The complaints encompass the manager, pollution control officer, and other yet-to-be-named individuals. This action comes in the wake of an investigation following the October 26 incident, where a spill of spent wash led to water discoloration, fish kills, and disrupted livelihoods for local fisherfolk and businesses around Bais Bay and nearby areas.

Fabre highlighted that one of the key violations includes the unauthorized dumping of waste into the sea from a lagoon without a Special Use Agreement in Protected Areas (SAPA). The lagoon is situated within the protected Ta±on Strait area.

Fabre also indicated that the decision regarding the distillery's operational resumption rests with the department's Environmental Management Bureau (EMB). The distillery's operations remain suspended following a cease-and-desist order from the EMB, pending further investigation.

Furthermore, it has been decided that the 17-hectare lagoon, the origin of the wastewater spill, will no longer serve as a containment area for the distillery's spent wash, even after repairs to the breached wall have been completed.