CPDRC human wastes (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
THE Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas (EMB-7) will send a technical team tomorrow, Monday, to check on the creek near the Our Lady of Guadalupe grotto in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City, that is believed to be the source of foul odor.
EMB-7 Regional Director William Cuñado said they will conduct water sampling to verify if the creek is contaminated with human wastes, including urine allegedly coming from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) and Cebu City jail.
When asked who will be liable once the creek will be found out to be contaminated with human waste from the two jail facilities, Cuñado responded, “The liable parties are those who manage the building but not the inmates because they are just users.”
But Cuñado said it’s too early to put the blame on the two jail facilities as they also have to determine if the residents near the area have their own septic tanks.
DENR-7 Director Emma Melana in a text message to Cebu Daily News said the concerned barangay should also call the attention of CPDRC and Cebu City jail wardens about the matter.
To recall, residents in the area have been complaining of foul odor coming from the creek for the past three months already. Devotees who flock to the Our Lady of Guadalupe grotto to pay respect to the virgin, whose feast will be held on December 12, also complained of foul odor from the nearby creek.