The Oil Spill Tragedy: Two Months After

By MA. GEOBELYN LOPEZ*
Panay News, Oct. 12, 2006

IT has been two months after the biggest oil spill knocked off the feet of the people of Guimaras and nearby provinces. The problem remains as MT Solar 1 is still 3,000 feet below the sea and continues to spew bunker fuel.

It is quite early for Petron Corp., Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., and even for the Arroyo government to suffer dementia and make it appear that things are getting better each day in Guimaras.

Two months are too short for them to simply forget the extent of damage brought by the oil spill. Amidst attempt to cover up the issue, the fact remains that the affected people suffer the brunt of the tragedy.

Two months after, toxins remain present in the villages worst affected by oil spill. Urine and blood samples taken from the residents of Sitio Bagatnan, Panobolon, Nueva Valencia showed elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide when compared to tolerable limits. This is also evident in Brgy. San Isidro, Sibunag. Toxicologists test the drinking water of Brgy. Tando and found that aromatic hydrocarbons were present. Until now, potable water is not within the reach of the people of Brgy. Tando.

Two months after, livelihood for those who rely on fishing becomes more difficult. Before August 11, the fisherfolks used to earn at least P240 a day. Now, the fish are gone! Though the “cash for work” program of Petron has provided short-term remedy to the displaced fisherfolks, it has not sustained the need for livelihood of the people.

Workers are now gradually being laid off. No alternative livelihood is being put in place.

Others resort to charcoal making, but they know that to be in this work will further worsen the damage to the environment.

Two months after, we are still waiting for concrete, immediate, and appropriate assistance and rehabilitation programs for the affected people. And perhaps, we cannot afford to still wait until December for the siphoning off of the remaining bunker fuel to commence.

The oil spill tragedy in Guimaras is a good example of ningas cogon mentality of the national government, in collaboration with Petron and SMDC. While they are foot-dragging in their response, their own enthusiasm to be at their best to resolve the oil spill problem easily dies down. This is indeed lamentable!

Two months after the oil spill, the people of Guimaras, on the other hand, are getting empowered each day. Now they realized that these corporations are the actual culprits. They already felt the pain of being forgotten by the national government.

Eventually, Madiaas Ecological Movement believes, time will come when the people of Guimaras will unite and make their voices heard. And this is now a challenge for them – how they can be heard and attended to by the Arroyo government. The people are doing their part now.

*The writer is the Acting Secretary General of the Madiaas Ecological Movement – Panay.

Another rock gig for Guimaras! Lesgow!

(From our mailbox…courtesy Lette Teodosio)

Guimaras mayor doubts NDCC declaration

By Francis Allan L. Angelo
The Guardian, Oct. 12, 2006

THE mayor of Nueva Valencia, Guimaras, the town hit hardest by the Solar 1 oil spill, refuses to believe that several areas of their municipality is already safe from toxic fumes emanating from bunker fuel owned by Petron Corp.

Mayor Diosdado Gonzaga said while most of their shorelines have been cleaned of oil sludge, the residents have yet to return to their homes.

Gonzaga also said that mangrove areas are still full of oily debris.

The mayor was reacting to the statement of National Disaster Coordinating Council spokesperson Anthony Rolando Golez Jr. that the island province is now safe from hydrogen sulfide gas emanating from spilled bunker fuel.

Gonzaga said he was surprised upon learning the statement of Golez saying they should be the first to know of such information.

“We should also know of such declaration because we are the ones who are on the ground,” he said.

Gonzaga does not believe that Guimaras is now clean because there is still a lot of oil sludge to be disposed out of the island.

“The only agency that can make such declaration is the Department of Health (DoH). Until such time that the DoH gives the go-signal, we will not allow our residents to return to their homes,” Gonzaga said.

Guimaras Governor Rahman Nava refused to comment on Golez’s pronouncement but he said only the DoH and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources can issue a clean bill of health on the contaminated areas.

Greenpeace returns barrel of bunker oil from Guimaras back to Petron

Greenpeace activists in protective gear surprise Petron Corporation, as they deliver a container drum of spilt bunker oil from the shores of Guimaras to the doorsteps of its corporate headquarters in the financial district of Makati. Source: Greenpeace/Luis Liwanag

GREENPEACE surprised Petron Corporation yesterday morning by delivering a container drum of spilt bunker fuel gathered from the shores of Guimaras to the doorsteps of the company’s headquarters in Makati City. The move, Greenpeace says, is meant to highlight the company’s irresponsible lack of urgency in retrieving the remaining bunker fuel which continues to spill out from the sunken MT Solar 1 tanker chartered by the oil giant.

The drum was hand-carried by Greenpeace activists who wore protective gear used for handling hazardous materials. In Petron’s courtyard, Greenpeace volunteers laid down a banner with a replica of Petron’s logo and the words “Petron, stop the spill now!”. The banner was trod on by three other activists who left black footprints leading to Petron’s door, in their wake.

“From the start, Petron’s response to the spill has been extremely disappointing—initially even shunning responsibility for the spill. Up to now, they have failed to take urgent action on the pressing need to retrieve the rest of the sunken oil. Were Petron genuinely concerned about the well-being of Guimaras, its unfortunate residents, and the environment, they would have guaranteed the costs to immediately initiate the retrieval operation,” said Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner Beau Baconguis.

“But it seems that in an effort to now distance itself from financial responsibilities associated with the retrieval effort, Petron has been more preoccupied in downplaying the extreme urgency of the situation.

Sixty days after the oil spill, the responsible parties are still vacillating over the question of money—with little thought to the dangers the excruciating wait continues to pose on the environment and the well-being of people in the area.”

(For the full story, click Infoshop News.)

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MWAHAHAHAHA! Just fabulous you guys! Darn…wish I was there.

NBI sends probe team to Guimaras

By Evelyn Macairan
The Philippine Star 10/12/2006

THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday it may file charges of reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property against the crew and owner of M/T Solar 1 once it has established the complainants and assessed the damage of the oil spill in Guimaras.

Acting NBI assistant director Alejandro Tenerife said they are sending a four-man team to Guimaras today to determine the criminal culpability of Norberto Aguro, captain of M/T Solar 1, and his crew and the tanker’s owner, Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. (SMDC).

“This is in preparation to the filing of a criminal case against the crewmembers, captain and owner (of the tanker). This is to assess who are the complainants in the case,” he said.

“One of the possible charges that we may file against them and other persons responsible (for the oil spill) is reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property,” he added.

The oil spill, considered the worst environmental disaster in the country, destroyed mangroves, coral reefs and other marine life, severely affecting the livelihood of Guimaras folk.

The tanker, which spilled bunker fuel in the waters of Guimaras last Aug. 11, remains submerged 900 feet deep in the Guimaras Strait.

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OF course, NBI would rather go on a short vacation to Iloilo, than making a polluted commute to Makati where Petron’s HQ is. I wonder why…Tsk, tsk, tsk…

Guimaras on my mind

By Niño Manaog, Contributor

I FIRST saw Guimaras in 2004, the very day the tsunami left thousands of people dead in the various parts of Southeast Asia. The day after Christmas, my wife, my brother-in-law and I went to the island on a pump boat.

Approaching the island, we passed an old mill, an edifice on its last legs perhaps, more dilapidated than it appeared—much like those detonated in a Steven Seagal or a Van Damme film. From the boat, we saw a towering white cross rising above the lush foliage. Such sights immediately reminded me of many things, and the fresh wind that rushed towards us did more than cool me down, as if I had not been through a hectic Christmas week.

In Alubihod Resort, we swam the whole day, having found the waters soothing. Nothing could have soothed our frayed nerves more than the wind, the waves and the warm seawater. The Guimaras waters did not only rejuvenate our nerves; the experience entirely renewed our spirits.

On our way back to the Jordan wharf, we dropped by the Trappist monastery; and we talked with the monks there. The monks, we found out, live quiet but not necessarily esoteric lives. Though clad in brown cassocks (just like the ones you see being projected by the Gregorian Chant albums), they are not the century-old hermits and mystics who distanced themselves from the world to know the essence of life. Perhaps just like the Gregorian Chant singers who make covers of Dire Straits’ or Sting’s classic songs, they live like the rest of us, keeping themselves busy doing handiwork and crafts to augment their sustenance. But I thought the monks really had to live there because of the peace and quiet the place forever renders to those who make nature their dwelling place. The sprawling hills, lush vegetation and pristine shoreline, at the very least, can afford anyone the peace and quiet—needed to contemplate on the world (and its ills).

When I saw our pictures later, I saw that the island—the beach, the waters and the people—looked like parts of a breathing organism, with a life of its own. If anything, to me then, Guimaras was a living Eden.

(For the full story, click Daily Tribune, Oct. 12, 2006.)