LINGAYEN—Wastewater from the Dagupan District Jail continues to pollute the Lingayen Gulf despite the temporary remedies undertaken by the city government.

It took Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Leduina Co, not the City Environment and Natural Resources Officer, to confirm that the jail still discharges wastewater into the sea.

Co, in a joint press conference with Governor Amado Espino Jr. on June 8, the start of the observance of the World Environment Month, said she conducted an ocular inspection of the area last week and saw for herself that the problem persists.

Espino, shocked by the report, claimed that it was “the first time” that he heard about the long-standing problem.

The PUNCH started to report on the continued pollution of the Lingayen Gulf by the district jail two months ago.

Espino pledged to take moves to help resolve the situation even as Dagupan is a chartered city and is not within the jurisdiction of the provincial government.

Espino, appointed by Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Jose Atienza as special provincial environment and natural resources officer, said the Dagupan jail problem must be addressed first even before other environmental problems in the Lingayen Gulf can be attended to.

Saying the matter is quite alarming, Espino said he is willing to facilitate the talk between the Dagupan City government and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to identify solutions.

Co said the test results of water samples taken from the back of the city jail indicate the quality is below accepted standards.

At the same time, Co said, she will call the attention of Regional Health Director Eduardo Janiero and the regional officer of the BJMP about plans to contain the flow of wastewater to the Lingayen Gulf from the jail’s system.

The Department of Health, through Secretary Franciaco Duque III, has provided P125,000 for the construction of a new septic tank for the jail currently holding more than 400 inmates, way beyond its capacity for 100.

In April, the city government funded the dislodging of the jail’s existing septic tank but Co said this has not arrested the discharging into the sea.

Evidently, the city government’s recommendation for a more regular dislodging of the jail’s septic tanks has not been carried out.—LM

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