Rox Peña

We often hear about oil spills that pollute and cause long-term damage to the sea. But a recent incident at the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape involved not oil, but wastewater. On October 26, 2025, the containment lagoon of Universal Robina Corporation’s (URC) Bais Distillery in Barangay Tamiso, Bais City, collapsed, releasing a massive amount of wastewater into the ocean.

I remember one time when I had an argument with my sister. As usual, I won through my long tirade of words. Out of frustration, she said, “Magpakamatay nako,” an expression of shock and defeat. That moment stayed with me, not because of her words, but because of what they revealed about how fragile the youth of today have become. Many elders see the younger generation as too emotional, too stressed and too sensitive.

When the earth trembled in Cebu and Davao Oriental earlier this month, the damage wasn’t only seen in cracked walls or fallen debris. Days after the shaking stopped, another danger quietly emerged. The ground itself began to collapse, giving rise to sinkholes. After the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck northern Cebu on Sept. 30, residents began reporting strange depressions, widening cracks, and holes that seemed to appear overnight.