CPDRC human wastes (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
Human waste allegedly from nearby jails causes religious spot to smell
Barangay Kalunasan residents, who are taking care of the Our Lady of Guadalupe cave otherwise known as Langub Church, are planning to raise funds to cement an area to minimize the smell of the human waste and urine allegedly coming from the Cebu City jail and the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) near the cave.
Jun Rivera, caretaker or the Our Lady of Guadalupe cave, said some barangay residents thought of this idea since the Office of the Cebu Governor had not acted on their verbal request for assistance about their problem.
The Our Lady of Guadalupe cave is a popular place to visit for religious devotees of the Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Enrico Omiping, a Barangay Kalunasan resident and a long-time vendor in the area, said they went to the office of the governor last October, a month after the urine and waste started contaminating the water in the creek.
But since then, Omiping said they had not heard anything from them.
Where waste came from
Rivera, for his part, said the urine and waste came from the jail, which are situated about 50 meters above the cave and the creek.
Rivera said that it had been more than three months since the foul smell began, and the water of the creek started to turn into the same color as feces.
“Kada buntag baho kaayong anso. Kanang tubig diha imbes klaro pa na mahimong parehas kolor sa ihi. Pwerte g’yud bahoa (Every morning, it really smells. The water in the creek, instead of being clear, will turn into the same color as urine),” Rivera said.
He said that devotees of Our Lady of Guadalupe would cover their noses when they would attend Mass in the cave.
He said that some devotees could not endure the smell and would leave the area immediately.
Omiping also showed to Cebu Daily News the creek which is allegedly connected to an area from the CPDRC and Cebu City jail.
Omiping said he also noticed that less devotees had visited the area since this started.
He said he is sure that the human waste really came from the CPDRC since the facility is just about 50 meters away from them.
“Ilaha g’yud na sa CPDRC kay ang amoa diri mga residente nilabhan raman among mayabo dinha. Naa mi septic tank kada usa namo dinhi. Unya ang ilahang septic tank walay suyop-suyop. Duda ko nagbuhat na sila agianan para diri sa sapa lusot (It’s from CPDRC because what the residents usually throw at the creek is the water used from washing clothes. We also have septic tanks here. And the septic tank at CPDRC has not been siphoned for a long time. I really suspect that they have channeled their waste to the creek),” said Omiping.
CPDRC, Cebu City jail
Sought for their comments, both jail wardens of CPDRC and Cebu City jail denied that they have a leak in their septic tank.
But CPDRC acting jail warden, Dr. Gil Macato, said that they had no problem with their sewerage.
“Dili mi mag-release og human waste ug ihi gikan sa septic tank. Gi-treat g’yud na namo amo nang gibutangan og chlorine (We will not release any human waste or urine from our septic tank. We treat our septic tank and apply chlorine on it),” Macato said.
Macato said that it might be coming from the Cebu City jail since they have a pipe that got busted there.
However, Cebu City jail warden, Supt. Jessie Calumpang, denied Macato’s allegations, saying no pipe in their sewerage were busted or had a hole in it.
“In fact, kana among septic tank gipadak-an na ug gipaayo last year. So wala g’yud mi leaking sa jail. Kay kung naa manimaho sad na mosulti na among personnel (In fact, our septic tank was fixed last year. So we don’t have any leaking),” Calumpag said.