Victorias Milling Co. (VMC) on Thursday, September 2, denied all allegations against their distillery plant in Manapla, Negros Occidental, calling them “baseless” and “unsubstantiated”.
VMC president Minnie Chua, in a press statement, said that they have not violated any laws, contrary to claims of various groups that the distillery is operating illegally among other issues.
To set the record straight, she said that it has regularly and consistently budgeted and spent on capex to address environmental concerns, particularly on the reported foul odor around the distillery since early 2020.
VMC has invested in modern structures and technological processes to eliminate odor. The most recent one is the installation of an Anaerobic Digester to lessen the presence of odor-causing bacteria in the slops by 60-70 percent and converting it to biogas; an Automatic Flaring System to eliminate odor-causing gases; and improvements in wastewater treatment methods at the aeration ponds such as filtration, aeration and dosing of enzymes to counteract the odor-causing chemical reaction in the digesters, Chua said.
They have has also installed added aspirating surface aerators in the Aeration Ponds to help eliminate odor, she added.
“We have invested over P200 million on these improvements to ensure we are environmentally compliant and the residents can attest to this,” Chua said.
“It is quite unbelievable that these pollution and foul odor claims from a few people have any basis while majority are satisfied with our efforts to make these improvements and rehabilitation we’ve introduced”, she added.
The distillery is covered with the proper Environment Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued by the DENR/EMB for the operation of its vacuum distillation, dehydrator and irrigation ponds. The distillery’s irrigation ponds are also covered with the proper permits and licenses, Chua said.
“That is why it is unfair for these people to accuse the mayor’s office and all concerned government agencies for siding with us when we are doing our part in following due process and complying with the necessary regulatory and reportorial requirements,” she said.
VMC has also been conducting tree planting activities in areas surrounding the industrial and natural polishing lagoons and aeration ponds to serve as natural air purifiers, she said.
It also helped establish the multi-partite monitoring team (MMT) with the LGUs of Manapla and Cadiz in 2020 involving government officials, environmental agencies, health experts and members of the communities to work hand-in-hand in preserving the environment, Chua said.
While this is no longer a requirement by the EMB, VMC believes this will set up a proper venue for community members to raise and resolve issues or complaints immediately with the representative government officials and agencies, she said.
“Our critics have been issued invitation to attend these meetings so they can air their concerns but they opted to issue baseless claims instead which makes us suspect their motives”, she said
VMC remains committed to protect the environment and create value to the communities where it operates and with this, the invitation remains open to media who wish to come and visit the distillery, as they had in the past, to see for themselves the improvements that the company has implemented over the years, Chua said.
LAND GRABBING DENIED
There is no truth in the statement that the distillery is encroaching on other people’s properties. Nor is there any truth that VMC has received any payment from LandBank for the properties, she said.
Certain areas in Manapla were zoned as commercial or industrial by proper authorities before the CARP law took effect in 1988, and this includes VMC’s distillery. So as ordered by the DAR in 2017 and 2019, the land where the VMC Manapla distillery is located has been ordered exempted from CARP, she added.
SEC REGISTRATION
VMC is a corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, Chua stressed.
As part of the entire VMC business operation, the VMC Distillery – Alcohol Bioethanol is not a separate entity and is sanctioned by the Primary and Secondary Purposes of the Amended Articles of Incorporation of VMC which has been duly approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and, as such, was legitimately granted a Business Permit by the Municipality of Manapla, she said.
“We sincerely hope this puts all issues to rest and at the end of the day, we are confident that the law is behind us because we have always been in good faith in complying with all governing laws and bodies concerned in our operations,” Chua added.*