Bais Bay nears ecological collapse nine months after URC-SURE ethanol waste spill

Den VIncent Puso

What began as a wastewater breach in Bais Bay is now becoming a long-term environmental crisis, with scientists warning that ecological damage continues to spread nearly a year after the initial breach. 

Assessments led by researchers from Silliman University’s Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences (IEMS), Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management (SUAKCREM), and partners found that in some of the reefs surveyed, nearly seven out of 10 corals had died recently. Researchers say the damage is likely to worsen unless the wastewater discharge is completely stopped. 

The wastewater, known as vinasse, is a byproduct of ethanol production that contains high concentrations of organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus. 

When released into a body of water like the sea, it can cause extreme eutrophication, a process where algae and microscopic plants multiply rapidly. The resulting algal blooms block sunlight from reaching corals and seagrasses while consuming oxygen in the water, leaving less for marine life to survive. 

These ecological changes are already visible in Bais Bay. Dr. Aileen Maypa, who led the assessment, presented images of killed coral colonies and dying seagrass beds in North Bais Bay. Additionally, local reports of fish kill all point to the same issue of eutrophication.

“These algae and phytoplankton compete for the oxygen in the water that corals, seagrass and fish should be getting. That explains the deterioration and death of these marine habitats and the reported fish kill,” she explained.

According to Maypa, unless the actual source of the spill is plugged, no amount of restoration will solve the problem at hand.

These findings are further solidified by reports of local fisherfolk continuing to notice reddish wastewater flowing from drainage canals into nearby waterways leading into the sea — despite earlier assurances that the discharge had already stopped.

“Nakita namin sa gilid ng highway, papunta sa may Taytay sa Alangilanan, doon sa canal, derecho sa sapa, derecho sa dagat. Palagi namang nag-leak ang lagoon nila. Mag high tide o low tide magpula ang tubig, derecho yan sa dagat,” Ricardo Aguilar, President of Fisherfolk Association of Manjuyod-Bais said.

(“We saw it along the highway toward Taytay in Alangilanan. The wastewater flowed into the canal, then into the creek, and straight out to the sea. Their lagoon has always been leaking. Whether it’s high tide or low tide, the water turns red and flows directly into the sea,”)

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has also confirmed that the containment lagoon that breached in October 2025 was built without the required permits and operational clearances, raising questions about regulatory compliance. 

Meanwhile, the Bais City LGU has begun coordinating with the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape Management Body to ensure the closure of the ethanol plant. In regards to actually stopping the discharge of wastewater, TSPS representative, Atty. Chad Ian Rubio said that this requires a passage of the resolution from the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) of TSPS.

With the discharge reportedly continuing months after the initial spill, scientists say regulatory action can no longer wait. They warn that Bais Bay may be nearing an ecological tipping point, where damage becomes increasingly difficult to almost impossible to reverse. 

Until the wastewater discharge is stopped, the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape will continue to lose the coral reefs, seagrass beds, and fish populations that both marine wildlife and coastal communities depend on.