Petron also held liable for oil spill

By Joyce Pangco Pañares and Joel Zurbano

PETRON Corp. is liable for contracting the Solar I tanker that triggered an ecological disaster after it sank off Guimaras Island on Aug. 11 and poured its cargo of bunker fuel into the surrounding waters, a Special Board of Marine Inquiry said.

Releasing the findings of the board yesterday, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza said Petron must answer for chartering the tanker even though it knew that it was overloaded—a factor behind its sinking.

Mendoza also ordered the suspension of Sunshine Maritime Development Inc., the tanker’s owner, after the board found the company administratively liable for “disregarding all regulations, policies, and requirements for sea worthiness of the vessel.”

Aside from possible violations of the Clean Water Act, Domestic Shipping Act and the Revised Penal Code, the ship owners are also being investigated for violation of the Anti-Dummy Law.

The ship’s captain, Norberto Aguro, was also suspended for “incompetence and for lack of adequate training, lack of knowledge and error of judgment” when he set sail despite bad weather.

Mendoza ordered the Maritime Industry Authority to file administrative charges against Aguro, Petron and Sunshine Maritime.

“The civil and criminal liability will be addressed by the Department of Justice,” Mendoza said.

He brushed aside Petron’s claim that it could not be faulted for chartering the tanker because it had passed international vessel standards.

“They can claim that, but proving it would be another matter,” Mendoza said, noting that the board of inquiry had used first-hand and expert testimony to come up with its findings and recommendations.

Earlier, Petron’s operations planning manager, Peter Paul Shotwell, insisted his company was not liable for the contract.

(For the full story, click Mla Standard Today, Sept. 15, 2006.)

Opposition solons score ‘leak’ on oil spill findings

OPPOSITION congressmen on Friday scored at the SBMI after one its members leaked to the media the “unofficial, personal findings” on the Guimaras oil spill.

Gilbert Remulla of Cavite, Rolex Suplico of Iloilo and Juan Edgardo Angara of Aurora also said the leakage could “distort” the findings of board’s inquiry.

They urged the board to find out the source of the leak.

An unnamed member of the SBMI reportedly revealed what he described as “my personal findings” that overloading and bad weather caused the Solar 1 to sink.

The SBMI member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “other board members have different individual conclusions, but in the end the same result will come out.”

The official said the board’s findings and recommendations had been submitted to the DOTC, but he declined to say who would face charges for the oil spill.

Remulla said the SBMI may have been “testing the waters” by leaking the results.

“Leakages and test balloons are often used as a tool for corruption, bribery and unwarranted protection and any delay in the release of official findings would only increase the suspicion of a whitewash,” he said.

Suplico advised Marina officials against leaking information since the Guimaras oil spill is a “very sensitive issue that should be treated with care at all times.”

Angara feared that the leak could affect the credibility of the final output of the investigation. “The findings should not be premature for these could create doubts on the final output or actual findings of the investigation,” he said

(From the Manila Times, Sept. 15, 2006.)

Defense chief recommends P20M more for oil spill; NBI told to look into oil smuggling

By Carla Gomez
and Tetch Torres
Inquirer

BACOLOD CITY – Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr., chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, has recommended the release of another 20 million pesos to Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental for oil spill response and rehabilitation activities.

In Manila, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate possible oil smuggling activities undertaken by the sunken tanker M/T Solar I.

In his recommendation to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Cruz asked for the release of 10 million pesos for Guimaras, and five million pesos each for Iloilo and Negros Occidental provinces.

Cruz said it was understood that Petron Corp. will refund the amount to the National Treasury.

He told the President that the Department of Budget and Management also released 20 million pesos to the three central Philippine provinces last August 24.

The MT Solar I, carrying 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel, sank off the coast of Guimaras, triggering an oil spill that has hit the shores of Guimaras and two towns of Iloilo, and remains a threat to Negros Occidental.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez claimed there is substantial evidence of possible oil smuggling activities, citing a hole he said the Japanese salvage ship Shinsei Maru found on the tanker, which sank off Guimaras Island August 11, triggering one of the country’s worst oil spills.

“We have substantial evidence that a portion of the vessel was intentionally opened to siphon the oil from one of the containers…one of the containers (was) already empty before the vessel sank,” Gonzalez said.

The NBI also formally filed before the DOJ a complaint for violation of Commonwealth Act 108 or the Anti-Dummy Law against the incorporators of Solar I owner, Sunshine Maritime Development Corporation.

Gonzalez said a formal preliminary investigation will be conducted on the complaint.

(For the full stories, click P20M and NBI, Sept. 14, 2006.)

Probers finds Petron, tanker firm, captain liable for oil spill

GOVERNMENT probers found shipping firm Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. (SDMC), its captain, Petron Corp., and maritime officials liable for the sinking of the ill-fated MT Solar I.

The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), after scrutinizing the report of the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI), announced Thursday that Petron was “liable of overloading” industrial fuel at its port in Limay, Bataan.

Overloading caused “instability” to the MT Solar I and “render[ed] it unseaworthy for the voyage,” the report said.

The MT Solar I was carrying some 2.2 million liters of bunker fuel when it sank off Guimaras Island in central Philippines on August 11.

Some 200,000 to 300,000 liters of oil had been spilled into the sea, devastating the coastal villages in at least three provinces. However, evidence of a continued oil leak was observed during the recent weeks.

Captain Norberto Aguro, skipper of the ill-fated tanker, was found “administratively liable of disabling lack of adequate training for oil tankers.”

The report also said Aguro failed to “exercise due dilligence in making the vessel seaworthy.”

Sunshine Maritime, meanwhile, was deemed “administratively liable for completely disregarding all mandated regulations” for the seaworthiness of vessels.

The investigators left it to the Department of Justice to determine the civil and criminal liability of the Petron, Sunshine Maritime and Aguro.

DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza directed the Marina to file charges against the three parties.

The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and the Philippine Coast Guard, meanwhile, supposedly “committed lapses” in performing its mandated functions. -GMANews.TV

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Are you surpised? I’m not.

Health office backtracks on cause of boy’s death (Hmm…I wonder why)

CONTRARY to recent news reports, the Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas said there are no official findings yet conducted on the body of the boy who died of an asthma attack in Guimaras last Aug. 28.

Assistant Regional Director Ed Gonzaga said their office confirmed the death of two-year-old Alejandro Castillo of Naoway island in Sibunag, Guimaras but belied reports that the death was caused by the bunker fuel fumes.

“There is a possibility that the death might have been aggravated by the fumes but it is not the cause of his death. We only based on the medical history of the child. He was born asthmatic,” Dr. Gonzaga said.

But he said there is no official findings yet as to the real cause of the death of the boy.

“If we said the fumes aggravated the condition of the boy it does not necessarily mean it was already the cause of the death of the boy,” Gonzaga stressed.

He said they are still processing the result of the blood samples taken from residents of oil spill affected communities in Guimaras.

For the entire press release, click Sunstar, Sept. 14, 2006.)

Guimaras gets P1.1M from MAR, Capiz officials

By Ruby P. Silubrico
Sunstar, Sept. 14, 2006

THE Province of Guimaras headed by Governor JC Rahman Nava Wednesday formally received financial assistance amounting to P1.1 million from the officials of the Capiz Government as well as Senator Mar Roxas.

Of the amount, P560,000 was a personal donation from Roxas while the P560,000 came from Capiz.

In the P560,000, the Roxas City officials headed by Mayor Antonio del Rosario gave P200, 000; the Capiz province headed by Gov. Vicente Bermejo gave P200, 000 and P160, 000 from the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) headed by Mayor Felipe Barrido. For the latter, each mayor from the 16 towns allocated P10,000.

“There are no political boundaries during calamities and we are always willing to give whatever assistance to Guimaras province,” Roxas said.

Nava said this amount would help the more than 5,000 families affected by the MT Solar 1 oil spill in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras.

The evaluation of the affected areas is ongoing. One of these areas is Nauway that was found to have high hydrogen sulfide that is dangerous to one’s health. Residents were ordered to evacuate the area for their protection.

Meanwhile, Nava said that no civil case has been filed against Petron Company, which chartered the oil tanker because the incident is still being investigated. The results of the investigation would know who is liable for the sinking of the tanker last August 11.

Oil spill evacuee needs medical assistance

BY ALLEN V. DEL CARMEN
Visayan Daily Star
Sept. 14, 2006

EVACUATION CENTER, Cabalagnan, Nueva Valencia – Mely Galleto, 46, a fisherman’s wife who is among the evacuees due to toxic fumes caused by the oil spill, has an enduring wish when her son, Jehmel turns 14 on Sept. 27.

“I hope kindhearted individuals will offer us help,” she said in an interview with St. La Salle Mass Communication students at the evacuation center at the elementary school in this barangay, which is among the worst hit of the coastal villages of Guimaras.

Jehmel has been diagnosed as suffering for about 10 years now from Hirschprung Disease, or megacolon, a defect at birth.

Dr.Reginald Hao, a Bacolod-based pediatric surgeon, told the DAILY STAR those suffering from the disease suffer from bowel movement difficulty due to the absence of nerves in the wall of the bowel.

In Jehmel’s case, his mother said, the boy cannot defecate unless aided by a suppository or Laxoberal tablet or syrup. “There are times he cannot move his for days because we run out of funds,” she added.

“We can’t afford to buy medicines now that my husband can no longer fish. She said as tears rolled down her cheeks.”

Hao said the use of suppositories is not good for the boy, adding that immediate surgery is needed for the boy. Patients suffering from this disease are usually operated on at a very young age, he added.

Consequently, the boy’s growth has been stunted. At 13 years old, Jehmel stands 3 feet 8 inches tall.

Jehmel was diagnosed as having the disease when he was 3 years old. Five years ago, they wanted him operated on but she said they didn’t have the money for surgery expenses that will amount to more than P50,000. Today, the operation costs about P100,000.

Global medical records show one Hirschsprung case per 1,500 to 7,000 births. Many of those who suffer from the disease grow up up to be anemic, They look pale and tire easily.

Jehmel said he wants to play, too but he settles with children’s card games because he does not have the resistance and the build to play with boys his age.

“My heart is wrenched when I see my boy complaining of stomach discomfort and swelling when he could not move his bowels and this happens very often,” the fisherman’s wife said.

His physical condition also prevents him from making good grades in school, his mother admitted, where he is a second-year high school student.

Dr. Hao said Jehmel’s case requires a “pull-through operation” which involves the taking out of the part of the intestine that does not work and connect it with the healthy part that’s left to the anus.

Readers touched by Jehmel’s plight may course their help to the DAILY STAR, which will turn over their help to government social workers in Guimaras.

Coast Guard alters oil containment operations

By GEROME DALIPE IV
Panay News, Sept. 14, 2006

ILOILO City – The containment operations of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has been modified only in the area of the sunken tanker a day after the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) announced that the remaining bunker oil from Solar I be siphoned out.

PCG Commander Harold Jarder said the change in the clean-up operations came after they noticed a minimal discharge of oil from the tanker that sank off Guimaras Strait last August 11 due to bad weather.

“We continue spraying oil dispersants, but only at the site, not like before where our vessels would spray dispersants in the surrounding areas,” Jarder told reporters.

The NDCC and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) are both amenable to the proposal of siphoning out the remaining bunker oil from Solar I.

Jarder confirmed they stopped the operations of the Coast Guard’s five tugboats spraying oil dispersants in the areas contaminated with oil.

Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) Chief Rafael Coscolluela said bunker oil leaking from the tanker is only minimal thus; they need not hire the services of another tanker.

Coscolluela favors the proposal to suck the remaining bunker oil rather than re-float the vessel.

Task Force Solar Oil Spill in Manila is expected to decide on what option is best to be initiated on the tanker that remained 600 meters underwater, said Coscolluela.

Coscuella noted that it would take barely a month to marshal and position the ship to the area of the tanker and another two months to fully suck the remaining oil.

The Coast Guard recommended Norwegian company – Framo Engineering – to siphon the remaining bunker oil. It cited the firm’s experience and knowledge in handling such cases.

Jarder said siphoning out of oil from the tanker is a difficult task. But with the use of sophisticated and high tech facilities, such could be easily done.

The Guimaras tragedy

RULE OF LAW

By Basilio H. Alo
BusinessWorld
September 8, 2006

In tragedy, every moment is eternity. – Cristopher Fry

ONE national daily recalled the tanker Exxon Valdez’s spillage of around 10 million gallons of oil off the coast of Alaska in 1989, and compared it to MT Solar I’s 62,000 gallons of oil devastating the Guimaras shores today.

One local expert even advanced the opinion that when the next typhoon
hits the Visayas, it would neutralize the oil catastrophe simply through
the forces of nature.

Perhaps, the oil leakage may not be as extensive nor as horrifying as the one in Alaska, but to the affected fisherfolk, business establishments, and residents in the area, it couldn’t be any worse since their livelihoods have effectively been wiped out.

We should bear in mind that the Philippines is still a Third World country, unlike Alaska that is part of the powerful United States of America, the unofficial leader of the world’s developed nations.

The sight of hundreds of Guimaras villagers using their hands to scrape oil sludge from the rocks and trees in their island’s coastline shows so vividly the kind of weapons we can muster to fight the tragedy.

But for those in the know, this kind of disaster is not unusual in the maritime industry, and with the lengthy experience of our own shipping networks, accidents at sea are already well covered by insurers, both local and foreign.

I do not believe there is any practical advantage, other than political, in completing the investigation in a hurry. As a matter of fact, insurance companies should be left to handle it by their rules, and then indemnify the ones damaged by the oil spillage.

The Navy’s Special Board of Marine Inquiry will come out with its findings soon, but, by its own regulations, it may not determine civil nor criminal liability for the oil spillage, nor may it award damages.

Eventually, the claimants will be asked to file the proper case for recovery of damages in the regional trial courts and a decision will be forthcoming after a lengthy court battle that will usually end in the Supreme Court.

That will take a decade. In the meantime, Guimaras villagers will be suffering the ill-effects of the disaster, unless government takes a direct hand in bringing about quick relief to their vanished livelihoods.

The 1987 Constitution commands the State “to protect and promote the right to health of the people” and to “protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature” (Sections 15 and 16, Article III).

Similarly, it is “the prime duty of the Government…to serve and protect the people” (Section 4, Article II, Constitution). So, before certain interested functionaries start revising or amending the fundamental law, maybe they should seriously consider following its current mandates first.

If Filipinos can show nationalistic or social concern, this is the perfect opportunity. The maritime disaster should bring out the best (or the worst) in our beings. Let us all work together within our modest means!

6 months before tanker salvaging begins

THE government on Wednesday decided to siphon out the remaining bunker fuel oil from the sunken M/T Solar 1 instead of floating it to the surface.

However, a government official privy to the ongoing National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) meeting on the Guimaras oil spill said it will take at least six more months for a salvaging company to start works, considering the need to carefully draw out plan to siphon out oil from a tanker 640 feet deep below the ocean’s surface.

However, while the government is firm in siphoning oil, it is not keen on floating the sunken tanker, saying its presence underneath the ocean has no adverse effect to the environment.

Undersecretary for Research and Development Graciano Yumul of the Department of Science and Technology said the government is seriously considering spending a huge amount of money to do the job.

“The official position of the government is to siphon off the oil. Whether we will float it afterward or not, we still have not decided yet. We will siphon off the oil, even if it means spending a huge amount of money,” Yumul said.

He said the oil tanker is stable in its present location and moving it might cause a leak and further damage to the environment in Western Visayas.

Yumul added that representatives of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund, Petron Corp.’s insurer for oil spills seem to agree with the government’s decision. J. Mayuga, BusinessMirror, Sept. 14, 2006

Mayor scores sundry plans on oil cleanup

LOCAL officials in the island province of Guimaras, central Philippines, have suspended clean-up work in the area covered by a massive oil spill, on account of inadequate safety equipment, yet also rushed the relocation of about 100 affected families.

Mayor Diosdado Gonzaga of Nueva Valencia town disclosed this Wednesday and scored national government officials for announcing sundry clean-up plans but taking little effort to implement the same.

“Starting Tuesday we have stopped laborers from reporting for cleanup work because they lack protective gear,” Gonzaga said, adding that the local government will just have to sustain the residents who would go without pay with rice and sardines.

Gonzaga told radio dzXL that it was now up to Petron Corp., which owns the oil cargo “to meet the requirements.”

Petron, a publicly listed company that is 30 percent owned by the Philippine government, had failed to make good on its promise to provide clean-up workers protective gloves, masks and boots, the mayor averred.

(For the full story, click Sundry plans, Sept. 13, 2006.)

Guimaras readying criminal raps vs execs of Petron, Solar 1

By Nestor P. Burgos Jr.
Inquirer

ILOILO CITY – The island-province of Guimaras is readying criminal charges against officials of Petron Corp. and owners of the sunken oil tanker Solar I, which has caused the oil spill that devastated the island’s rich marine life and destroyed the livelihood of thousands of residents.

Lawyer Plaridel Nava II, provincial legal officer, said they were considering filing charges against the officials of Petron and the Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. (SDMC), which owns the tanker that sank 13.3 nautical miles southwest of Nueva Valencia town on August 11.

The officials will be held liable for violating Republic Act 9275 (Clean Water Act of 2004), Republic Act 8749 (Clean Air Act of 1999) and Republic Act 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000), he said.

Nava said the complaint will include the putting up by Petron of a temporary dumpsite for contaminated debris in San Antonio village in Nueva Valencia without the approval of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the local government. The oil firm stopped the dumping only after Guimaras officials complained, according to Nava.

Guimaras Governor JC Rahman Nava said officials are still studying the statement of the Department of Justice task force investigating the oil spill, which cleared Petron of any criminal liabilities in the sinking of the tanker and the oil spill.

The tanker sank off the central island province of Guimaras, spilling some of its cargo of two million liters (500,000 gallons) of industrial fuel oil. It is sitting on the seabed about 640 meters (2,000 feet) under water.

The spill has damaged fishing grounds and marine reserves in a region being developed as a tourist destination. The provincial government says about 26,000 people who depend on fishing have been affected.

(From INQ7.net, Sept. 13, 2006.)

Volunteerism during the oil spill

IT may not be very apparent in Guimaras but volunteerism in the cleanup of the Petron oil spill is very much alive with the Save Our Seas (SOS) Movement. Hobby groups, students, community youth, fraternities, sororities, NGOs, government agencies and bank employees are contributing time, efforts and resources to control and minimize the damage of the oil spill.

Empty plastic containers that could be used as floaters of indigenous oil-spill booms are gathered by students of the Philippine American Progress School, Assumption, Hijas de Jesus, Central Philippine University, St. Paul’s University, Iloilo National High School, MTC-St. Therese Colleges and others.

Students of colleges and universities in Iloilo City, Ajuy and Concepcion (polytechnic colleges) have been volunteering in the production of these booms. The UP School of Technology, CPU Appropriate Technology Center and the University of the San Agustin College of Engineering are helping in improving the designs and applications on the ground.

Employees of the Fiber Industry Development Agency (FIDA), Philippine Fishport Development Agency (PFDA) and the Land Bank of the Philippines have been sharing part of their free time in the production of these booms. BFAR, Department of Agriculture (DA), National Food Authority (NFA) and the Iloilo City government have been providing materials like ropes, nets and sacks.

The Iloilo Provincial government provides support in transporting materials. NGOs, professional groups and private individuals and businesses are providing drinking water, foods, bamboos, tools, equipments and other support.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm to contribute in the clean-up and rehabilitation of affected areas that the government task forces should properly tap,” said Melvin Purzuelo of Green Forum-Western Visayas (GF-WV) and one of the conveners of SOS.

SOS was initiated by GF-WV, Iloilo Mountaineering Club (IMC) and Iloilo Mountain Bikers Federation (IMBF) three days after Solar 1 sunk off southern Guimaras. SOS Headquarters is in the BFAR Bldg, Iloilo Fishing Port Complex and inquiries may be coursed through GF-WV at telefax (033) 337-9773.

(From Sunstar, Sept. 13, 2006.)

Board ends oil spill probe

By Leila Salaverria
Inquirer

REPRESENTATIVES from the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) yesterday defended the amount of load it allowed the Solar I tanker to carry, saying that it was still within allowable limits.

But a member of the Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI) believed that letting the Solar I carry more load affected its stability and contributed to its sinking on Aug. 11 while loaded with 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel oil.

The incident caused a massive oil spill that affected the provinces of Guimaras and Iloilo.

Marina naval architect Carlos Odi testified yesterday that the tanker’s Marina-approved freeboard, which refers to the distance between the main deck of the vessel and the portion of it level with the water line, was within the allowed limit and also let the tanker carry more load and earn more revenue.

The Marina-approved freeboard was lower than that specified by private classification society Bureau Veritas, which had inspected the tanker. A higher freeboard means there should be less load on the vessel.

(For the full story, click Board ends probe, Sept. 13, 2006.)