The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has filed formal complaints against the Universal Robina Corp. (URC) – Sugar and Renewables (SURE) Bais Distillery following a major wastewater spill that polluted the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape last month.
The legal action, lodged before the Bais City prosecutor’s office on November 21, targets URC-SURE—represented by its officers at the time of the incident—for alleged violations of Republic Act 11038, or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Act of 2018.
DENR-Negros Island Region Executive Director Charlie Fabre confirmed the complaints specifically cite the “dumping of waste into the sea” from the lagoon.
Investigators found the containment area, which is situated within the legally protected Tañon Strait, was operating without the required Special Use Agreement in Protected Areas (SAPA).
The complaint follows a weeks-long investigation into the environmental disaster that began on October 26 when a wall of the distillery’s spent wash containment lagoon breached.
The spill released industrial wastewater into Bais Bay and adjacent waters of Bais City and Manjuyod, leading to severe water discoloration, widespread fish kills, and economic disruption for thousands of local fisherfolk and coastal businesses.
The distillery remains under a cease-and-desist order issued by the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), pending the full outcome of the probe.
Fabre also noted that the 17-hectare lagoon that was the source of the wastewater will be permanently taken out of service and will no longer be used to contain the distillery’s spent wash, despite repairs to the breached wall nearing completion.