DENR tests Batangas river after ‘bubble’ mess

SAN PEDRO CITY –– Two persons were charged on Thursday with violations of the Clean Water Act after washing used plastic drums with detergent soap in a river in the town of Tuy in Batangas province.

Batangas environment chief Noel Recillo said the men used a good amount of detergent that left a thick bubble foam in a river in Barangay Bayudbud on Wednesday.

“The bubble (foam) went as big as (the size of) a tree,” Recillo said, alarming the community and local officials.

The police, on late Wednesday, arrested Mark Anthony Austria and Romano Cabrera, who owned a shop that bought and sold used plastic drums from industries.

It turned out that the suspects also did not have a permit to run the business.

A Department of Environment and Natural Resources team took water samples from the river on Thursday to see if other chemicals were used.

Aside from the Clean Water Act, the suspects were also charged with violation of the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act, which carries the penalty of six months to six years imprisonment and a fine of P600 to P4,000.

LZB