Resto, fast-food chain closed for discharging untreated wastewater

Manila Bulletin - May  31, 2006

The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) yesterday shut down a popular fast food chain and a commissary of a famous restaurant in Quezon City for allegedly discharging untreated wastewater into bodies of water.

The LLDA said that the wastewater discharge eventually leads to the Laguna de Bay. 

LLDA General Manager Casimiro Ynares III served the cease-and-desist orders (CDO) to the Cabalen Management Co. Inc.'s commissary located on J. P. Rizal cor. Aguinaldo Streets, Marilag, and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in Acropolis, Libis, both in Quezon City.

Both establishments were given several oppurtunities by the LLDA to implement corrective measures to abate or control their pollutive waste water discharges. 

However, authorities said that the firms have continously discharged water not conforming to the effluent standards.

Cabalen Restaurant received its first CDO on March 2005. It was temporarily lifted in June 23, 2005.

But the LLDA handed out a second closure order last Monday after the restaurant failed to comply with the conditions stated in the earlier temporary lifting order, which particularly states the construction of a sewerage treatment plant.

Meanwhile, KFC has continuously failed to conform to effluent standards set by the LLDA since April 2005, which shows that "all parameters used by the agency has been exceeded a hundred-fold."

KFC has also been issued a CDO after it has operated its facilities, equipment, machineries, and similar implements without the necessary permits from the authority.

The fastfood chain was also imposed a penalty of P1,000 per day for its continuous discharge of pollutive effluent from April 11 to May 30.