By Cong B. Corrales
Editor-in-Chief,
and Shiela Mae Butlig
Correspondent

AMONG the poultry farms ordered to close in Alubijid, Misamis Oriental, is allegedly owned by the mayor of Cagayan de Oro City, an environmentalist said in a public social media post.

Raul B. Ilogon, a known environmentalist and resident of Alubijid, publicly posted on Facebook that Mayor Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy is the owner of Rolor Blue Sky Agrivet in Barangay Lumbo, Alubijid.

“There will be less chicken to eat today. 17 poultry farms in Alubijid are gone! The fly infestation could have been controlled, but the owners were afraid to spend the money and lose profit. Now look! There’s nothing left,” Ilogon wrote in Bisayan in a caption accompanying a photo of the list of closed poultry farms.

However, the list of closed poultry farms provided by Ilogon could not be independently verified.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources issued a cease and desist order to all poultry operators in Alubijid following numerous complaints of fly infestations and foul odors.

The order follows complaints dating back to last year from residents in the barangays of Taparak, Poblacion, Sampatulog and Lourdes.

The other poultry farms included in the list of Ilogon are Nacario Poultry Farm, JLT Corp, New Tech Poultry Farm, Rana Poultry Farm, Asonlie Poultry Farm, Joso Poultry Farm, Solar Unico Poultry Farm, Roxas Poultry Farm, Golden Goose Poultry Farm, Asongchiong Poultry Farm, Buen Poultry Farm, Cataleya Poultry Farm, WJJ Poultry Farm, Mega/Daily Fresh, MBC Poultry Farm, and Julmar Poultry Farm.

According to the order, the “perennial problem cannot be attributed to a single poultry operation owing to the geographic location.”

As a result, the EMB-10 sanctioned all poultry operations for “failure to observe proper housekeeping and failure to adopt efficient remedial and long-term measures to address the problem.”

“This is just the beginning. Other municipalities in Region 10 hosting poultry projects and experiencing similar issues will soon face the same regulatory scrutiny,” EMB-10 Director Reynaldo Digamo said.

The EMB-10 has also urged the local government of Alubijid to take action by suspending the business permits of the poultry projects.

The order was served on Wednesday by lawyer Alvimar Decampong, chief of EMB-10 legal unit, and received by Alubijid Mayor Emanuel Jamis.