Abucay Municipal Councilor Jayson Marclo (right) looks into the alleged "toxic waste" dumped by a paper firm into the Abucay municipal refuse facility and the adjacent private property in Barangay Salian. (GR)

ABUCAY, Bataan – Residents of this town, including a councilor, are up in arms over allegedly toxic ashes dumped by a nearby paper mill on a private lot beside a materials recovery facility (MRF).

Sangguniang Bayan (SB) Committee on Environment chairman Councilor Jason Marcelo and farmers of Abucay have claimed that the white and black ash dumped in Barangay Salian flowed down to rivers and creeks after heavy rains polluting them and affecting their farmlands.

Rosauro Baino, a 62-year-old local farmer, said the river also feeds to Manila Bay.

According to Marcelo, the paper mill company from Samal, Bataan 2020. showed a certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Environment Management Bureau indicating that the ashes were not toxic.

But the councilor complained that the ashes in the water smell bad and caused itchiness. He also warned that the health of residents will be affected by the dust from the ashes when blown by the wind.

Marcelo said the ashes were dumped at the MRF last week after the trucks carrying it were not able to go up to a private land because of the slippery road caused by the rains.

The MRF foreman reasoned out that the ashes were used as cover for the wastes at the facility.

Marcelo said almost 20 truckloads of ashes have been dumped daily in the area for about two months now.

DENR provincial chief Raul Mamac said he will have the complaint investigated.