By Chito Chavez
Umapila ang isang grupo ng mga environmentalists sa gobyerno pagdating sa paghabol sa mga smoke-belching factories sa bansa.
Sa isang press briefing sa Quezon City, sinabi ng Clean Air Philippines Incorporated (CAPMI) na nagpapatuloy sa kanilang operasyon ang ilang mga factories kahit na umano ay wala ang mga ito ng kaukulang permits katulad ng environmental clearance certificate (ECC) buhat sa Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“On behalf of the unwilling victims who are continuously being exposed to the dangerous air pollution from these steel mills we are appealing to government to immediately put a stop to this environmental crime,” ani CAPMI president Manuel J. Galvez “Each day of inaction clearly results to another day of life threatening air pollution exposure that our people in these areas are subjected to.”
Sinabi pa ng grupo na noong October 2017, nagsampa sila ng reklamo laban sa ilang mga steel companies na naka-base sa Pampanga, Davao City at Caloocan City dahil sa sinasabing ilang mga paglabag nito sa Clean Air Act at Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) o ang ECC law ng bansa.
“We filed the necessary complaints against certain smoke belching factories nationwide months ago but until now we still await the decisive action of the EMB to quickly resolve the deadly air pollution that these factories are producing,” Galvez added.