BAGUIO CITY — The Cordillera office of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) here ordered an in-depth investigation on the cause of the occurrence of gargantuan bubbles reported in the creek near the Loakan Airport and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

EMB Regional Technical Director Paquito Moreno directed concerned technical personnel to take appropriate water samples from the affected creek for analysis to ascertain whether or not the gigantic bubbles that surface at the creeks are caused by industries surrounding it or the product of climate change.

Moreno said the EMB-CAR will be issuing a periodic updates on the results of the water analysis to ascertain the real cause of the occurrence of giant bubbles.

At the same time, the technical team was also tasked to take water sample in all creeks that are the tributaries of the Loakan Creek in order to come out with conclusive findings and recommendations on the mysterious occurrence of the bubbles to avert whatever impressions of the affected residents on the said incident.

Earlier, Loakan residents expressed fear that the formation of giant bubbles in the said creek was allegedly caused by reported toxic wastes being unscrupulously dumped by numerous PEZA locators in the river.

Loakan is the main river system which is part of the tributary of the Bued River in Pangasinan.
In the past several days, giant bubbles have been reportedly forming in different parts of the creek near the Loakan airport, a phenomenon which has also puzzled EMB-CAR officials.

However, Moody Agyao, PEZA operations chief, vehemently denied insinuations that the mysterious formation of bubbles on the different creeks near their locators is the fault of the economic zone, saying that the same is not possible considering that all the water coming from the zone’s locators are being appropriately treated in its sewage treatment plant before it is released to the nearby creeks.

The PEZA Baguio facility welcomed the conduct of water analysis in the areas where the giant bubbles have been developing over the past several days to pinpoint the real cause of such abnormal occurrence in the area whereby giant bubbles suddenly develop in some portions of the Loakan creek.

Agyao claimed it is impossible that the giant bubbles that mysteriously developed in the creek is caused by the water coming from its locators since they are requiring locators to establish safety nets so that toxic water will not freely flow into the river system and greatly affect the source of livelihood of the people.

Witnesses informed EMB-CAR officials describe the situation as if there was a giant who conducted his laundry activities in the river, thus, the formation of large bubbles that caught them by surprise over the past several days.

Moreno called on concerned residents to be sober about the situation and stop speculating on the causes of the giant bubbles so that the incident will not create anxiety among the villages surrounding the airport and the economic zone.