By Manila Standard Business
July 6, 2026
A piggery accused of polluting a village in Maddela, Quirino province has been ordered suspended after anti-crime and corruption advocacy group IpaBitag Mo Inc. (IBMI) intervened on behalf of residents.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) Region 2 served the suspension order on Golda Farm just 20 minutes before a June 26 public hearing called by the Quirino provincial government to address the complaints.
EMB legal unit chief Kathleen Aquino said the suspension followed a last-minute surprise inspection conducted to document the farm’s violations.
A joint on-site inspection pushed by IBMI and led by advocate Ben Tulfo, alongside provincial and local officials, confirmed severe odor and the absence of a waste disposal system at the farm.
Residents of Barangay Villa Hermoza Sur had appealed to IBMI and media outfit BITAG on May 19 over health hazards and improper waste disposal linked to the farm. The group’s investigation prompted the provincial government to convene the hearing.
Vice Governor Julius Caesar Vaquilar rebuked Maddela Mayor Rimel Tolentino and DENR-EMB Region 2 during the hearing for their prolonged inaction, saying officials addressed the inter-agency gridlock only after IBMI stepped in.
Golda Farm had operated the medium-scale piggery since 2012 without barangay, municipal business, sanitation or zoning permits, according to IBMI’s investigation.
The piggery owner claimed during the hearing she held a valid business permit, but Tolentino clarified that the document was a receipt for an application filed the previous day under pressure from IBMI’s probe.
Faced with the suspension order and mounting regulatory pressure, the pigger owner pledged to comply with all local permit requirements, secure Department of Agriculture shipping clearances and overhaul the farm’s waste management system.