Elements of the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) raided yesterday the beverage bottling plant of Pepsi Cola Philippines over reports of illegal groundwater extraction happening inside its facility located in Tunasan, Muntinlupa.
A report by radio station dzMM, including a video of the raid, said policemen and soldiers assisted the NWRB team in inspecting the soft drink company’s plant, whose security force barred the team from entering.
It said the raiding team acted on reports that six electricity powered deep well pumps were being used inside the plant, and that the pumps were shut down by the team.
Daily Tribune’s calls to Pepsi’s listed numbers had gone unanswered.
No officials of NWRB’s enforcement section, which Tribune tried to contact, could also confirm or deny the existence of the alleged illegally operated deep wells.
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NWRB is an agency under the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources.
wells stepped up NWRB-DENR has intensified its crackdown on illegal deep wells blamed for groundwater depletion in Metro Manila and nearby areas.
NWRB hotlines 928-2365 and 920-2641 had been put up to receive calls from the public on illegal deep wells in operation or those still being constructed.
A field study commissioned by the NWRB and undertaken by the Consultants for Engineering and Science and Technology (CEST)in 2004 identified as “critical” the groundwater levels in the said areas.
The CEST study said groundwater extraction causes land subsidence, resulting to floods taking longer to subside in the cities of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela.
The sudden changes in ground elevation resulting from groundwater extraction can damage roads, bridges and even buildings, said the study.
The NWRB had closed thousands of illegally operated deep wells in the National Capital Region (NWRB) and had issued cease and desist orders against a number of large companies, including several malls, found to be operating deep wells without the necessary permits.
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