TACLOBAN CITY – Mayor Ramon Oñate of Palompon, Leyte issued a challenge to Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez who has called for the filing of criminal and administrative charges against him and his wife Lourdes for alleged violation of environmental laws.
OÑATE
“We welcome the intent of Congressman Gomez to file the case in our esteemed Courts, which is the proper venue to hear his complaints and decide upon them. In our highly respected Courts, we stand on even ground as the allegations will be properly threshed out and he cannot cowardly hide under the dress of congressional immunity,” he said.
Oñate argued that the ensuing court hearings as envisioned by Gomez would “clear the air once and for all about these malicious and baseless accusations being hurled against me over the family-owned poultry dressing plant.”
He stressed that court hearings are the rightful forum for both accused and accuser to argue on their differences instead of the bar of public opinion where the truth can be easily distorted and the untruth touted to the maximum to serve vested interest.
“There must be a deeper motive for Congressman Gomez to sue us other than our alleged liabilities as he had raised in a legislative hearing and through press releases to the media, but we shall leave it as his personal concerns. What is at stake here is my reputation and integrity both as an entrepreneur and public servant, as well as the viability of a multi-million peso business venture and the job security of our more than 600 employees,” Oñate maintained.
“DBSN is reputedly the largest single corporation in the Visayas and Mindanao with over 600 workers under it name and counting. Quite, apparently, Mr. Gomez does not have the welfare or even the very survival of these people and their families who face the likelihood of severe economic dislocation with his purported advocacy disguised in aid of legislation just to throw us out of business,” Oñate stressed.
DBSN, based in Barangay Antipolo in Albuera, Leyte, is a poultry processing plant and an exclusive toll processor of the giant San Miguel Foods Inc. bearing the Magnolia Chicken brand.
The firm, owned by the family of Ramon and his wife, is reputedly the “biggest automated poultry processing plant in the Visayas and Mindanao, with an output capacity of about 60,000 dressed chicken daily. Presently, it employs more than 600 people, mostly residents.
“Another way of looking at his misplaced and ill-advised anti-DBSN drive is to foment dire poverty and hunger across the region’s workforce,” the mayor added.
DBSN passed the environmental performance assessment by an independent audit firm led by Engr. Aldwin Camance.
The audit report stated that DBSN was compliant with all the required permits for its operations. It has an Environmental Compliance Certificate, which was amended with the operations increased in production.
DBSN officials said their main objective was to be recognized as a “world-class and dynamic company that is most admired for its people, products, purpose, and performance. They also said they aim to “drive quality and safety of their products and services through a well-managed system by the power of our competent personnel, products, and services by exceeding the needs and expectations of our interested parties.”
They dismissed as “unfortunate” a call by the actor-turned politician to file criminal and administrative suits against the Onates for alleged violation of the land and environmental laws.
“We don’t know the actual motives of Mr. Gomez in assailing the integrity and reputation of DBSN. But what we can say as of the moment is that he was obviously shooting from the hips, fully unaware that our corporation was compliant with all the pertinent laws as evinced by our permits and licenses, as vetted by a third-party audit team,” the DBSN officials said.
“Be that as it may, we are prepared to meet him and present our side of the story at the proper place and the proper time,” they added.
Gomez, who authored House Resolution No. 778 prompting an inquiry into the blatant violations of land use and environmental management laws
in the municipalities of Palompon and Albuera, denied claims that the probe on the poultry farm owned by Oñate is politically motivated.
He cited an assessment study of the University of Santo Tomas Department of Biological Sciences that allegedly exposes the pollution in the waters of Ormoc Bay.
Gomez urged the Environmental Management Bureau to immediately cancel the Environmental Compliance Certificate of DBSN.