THE oil slick caused by the sinking of the MT Princess Empress off Oriental Mindoro has reached the waters of Batangas City as of yesterday, a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official said.
Capt. Victorino Acosta, PCG Batangas station commander, said “people on the ground” reported the oil slick yesterday morning, specifically at Verde Island.
“Upon verification of the information, it’s positive. There are sightings of oil spill in two barangays,” Acosta said.
Acosta said the PCG, in coordination with local government officials, is prepared for the oil slick, adding that oil spill booms have been installed in the area about a week ago.
Asked how large was the area affected by the oil slick in Batangas City, Acosta said: “We are still assessing the affected shorelines in terms of kilometers. As of now, we are waiting for feedback from our team there.”
Acosta said they are anticipating the oil slick to affect Verde Island in Batangas City and several other coastal towns.
PCG spokesman Rear Adm. Armand Balilo said traces of oil have been reported in three coastal barangays in Verde Island — Barangays San Antonio, San Agustin, and San Agapito.
“They collected approximately 230 liters of oil during the shoreline clean-up operations today,” said Balilo, referring to authorities at Verde Island.
PCG commandant Adm. Artemio Abu said the oil slick reached Verde Island due to a change in the wind and water current direction.
The vessel, transporting 900,000 liters of industrial fuel oil, sank off Naujan in Oriental Mindoro last February 28. The vessel was later located at the nearby Pola town, the worst-affected area.
Meanwhile, the Japanese dynamic positioning vessel Shin Nichi Maru arrived in Negros Oriental yesterday morning to help address the oil spill problem. The vessel was hired by RDC Reield Marine Services Inc, the owner of MT Princess Empress.
On board the vessel is a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV), said Balilo.
“Hopefully, it will fast-track the operations. The ROV is capable of locating the source of the oil spill, assess the condition of the vessel and how to go about with the siphoning (of the remaining oil on the sunken vessel),” he said.
Also yesterday, Abu met with Japanese Disaster Relief Expert Team and US Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team personnel and discussed measures to address the problem.
Balilo said the Japanese “briefed the PCG about their comprehensive assessment of the oil spill incident in the vicinity waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.”
Balilo said the US Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team “joined the discussion to gather relevant information and determine the best courses of action to execute before going to the Oil Spill Command Post in Oriental Mindoro.”
The PCG said its offshore spill response has resulted in the recovery of 6,803 liters of oily water mixture and 65 sacks of oil-contaminated materials from March 1 up to yesterday.
For shoreline response, a total of 2,353 sacks and 22 drums of waste have been collected in the towns of Naujan, Bulalacao, and Pola, Oriental Mindoro during the same period.
Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor said the oil spill has affected 20,932 families in the province.
Dolor appealed for alternative livelihood for his constituents.
He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the provincial government is currently implementing a cash for work program for 45 days. He said the Department of Labor and Employment has promised to extend the program by another 15 days.
“So that will be for (a total of) 60 days but eventually, if the oil slick will not be contained in the next 60 days, then we have to provide for the alternative livelihood. Alternative livelihood is very important,” said Dolor.
CFW EXTENDED
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is extending until May this year its cash-for-work (CFW) program in provinces affected by the oil spill.
DSWD Assistant Bureau Director Miramela Laxa, during a public briefing, said the clean-up of areas affected by the oil slick will take at least three to four months and will affect the livelihood of communities in affected areas, especially fishermen.
The CFW program was initially intended for around three weeks this month.
Laxa said to ensure more families will be provided with cash assistance through the CFW, they are limiting the program to one family member per household.
Each beneficiary will still be paid the equivalent of the minimum wage per day and shall be paid every five days. The minimum wage per day in Western Visayas (Region VI) as of June 2022 is between P410-450 and between P329 to P355 in Mimaropa (Region IV-B).
Work will be from Monday to Friday and usually involve cleanup of debris from the oil spill-affected shores, collection of locally available materials for the creation of improvised oil spill sorbent materials and oil spill boom which can be used in containing the oil slick, and creating and maintaining a backyard or barangay garden of fruits and vegetables.
Since the implementation of the CFW program in Oriental Mindoro, Palawan and Antique, the government has already distributed P116 million that benefitted 18,336 persons.
A report by the DSWD-Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DSWD-DROMIC) released yesterday showed that a total of 32,661 families or 151463 persons from 131 barangays in Regions IV-B (Mimaropa) and VI- (Western Visayas) have been affected by the oil spill.
A total of P42.67 million worth of assistance has been provided to affected families, including P35.89 million from the DSWD, P444,039 from the local government units (LGUs), P464,940 from non-government organizations (NGOs), and P5.87 million from other private partners.
Last March 19, DSWD distributed an additional 21,047 family food packs in Mimaropa. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
