DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, together with San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, padlocked the gates of Mega Foods and Stock Farm, Inc. a slaughterhouse in Barangay Kabayanan, on Wednesday, 22 January 2020.
The establishment was ordered closed after the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) of DENR found it was operating without a valid wastewater discharge permit, a violation under Section 25 of Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (Republic Act 9275). Multiple physical and chemical tests of its wastewater, moreover, revealed that it failed to meet standards for oil and grease, fecal coliform, and phosphate-phosphorus, among others.
Sec. Cimatu also conducted an ocular inspection of Kalentong Market in Mandaluyong City together with Mayor Menchie Abalos. The officials warned the management to clean up or face possible shut down as well.
DENR National Capital Region Regional Executive Director Jacqueline A. Caancan, CESO III, together with EMB-NCR Regional Director Atty. Domingo Clemente, Jr., accompanied Sec. Cimatu and other environment officials, as they made the rounds.
Both Mega Foods and Stock Farm, Inc. and Kalentong Market are located along the San Juan River, a major tributary of Manila Bay. Illegally discharged wastewater in the river system contributes to pollution in Manila Bay, hence the need to strictly regulate commercial and domestic activities in the area to effectively rehabilitate the historic bay.
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