Waters of Davao Oriental barangay turn orange

The residents of Barangay Maputi in the town of Banaybanay, Davao Oriental were worried when part of their river recently turned orange.

In the #KuyaKimAnoNa segment on 24 Oras on Monday, Kuya Kim said that, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 11’s initial study, the color was due to soil erosion, mainly caused by heavy rainfall last January 13 to 15.

However, there’s a heavier reason behind it. According to executive director Bagani Fidel Evasco, it was the result of massive siltation brought by soil erosion or sediment spill from mining.

“Naging kulay kahel ang dagat dahil sa iron content ng sediments [The sea turned orange because of the sediments’ iron content],” Evasco said.

Residents said their place has changed drastically since mining started in the area. Since parts of water turned orange, their livelihoods have also been affected.

“Walang magagamit na malinis na tubig kasi kulay putik na. Wala nang huli kasi polluted na ang dagat namin,” one said. “Dito kami naglalaba, dito kami naliligo. Sana tulungan niyo kami.”

(“We won’t have clean water to use anymore because it’s like mud. We don’t have catch anymore since it’s polluted. We do our laundry here, we bathe here. We hope you will help us.”)

“Masakit din sa amin dahil yung mga taga rito sa lugar namin, hanapbuhay nila ay pangingisda lang [It also hurts us because the main source of living here is fishing],” another added.

DENR Region 11 has already issued a notice of violation and a cease and desist order to the mining company responsible for what happened. — Franchesca Viernes/BM, GMA News