P22M being readied for San Lorenzo fisherfolk

By Maricar M. Calubiran
The News Today, Nov. 29, 2006

ABOUT P22 million is being readied by the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF) for the compensation claims of 1,400 fisherfolk in the town of San Lorenzo, Guimaras. The 1,400 fisherfolk are among the 3,700 fishermen claimants in the island-province after they incurred damages on their livelihood as a result of the Solar 1 oil spill.

IOPCF Deputy Director/Technical Advisor Joe Nichols said the fisherfolk have agreed to settle their claims on the basis of IOPCF’s offers.

Nichols added that additional claims are still coming in. There are some 13,000 farmers in the island province of Guimaras claiming damages.

The compensation package designed for the fisherfolk range from P6,000 to P30,000. The compensation claims are good for 12 weeks or three months. Claims will be made available in the form of check payments from the Land Bank of the Philippines.

As a matter of IOPCF policy, only the qualified claimant can get the check from the bank and no other parties are authorized to transact or receive the check on behalf of the claimant. This cut downs any dubious claims from any individuals or groups.

The agreement between the claimants and the IOPCF and The Shipowners Protection Limited is considered a welcome development. Nichols said he is looking forward to making substantial payments to all the affected fisherfolk and resort operators before Christmas.

Earlier, the IOPCF also paid some P396,888 to 21 tour operators out of 34 claimants from their group. The IOPCF corrected its earlier report that 22 tour operators already received their compensation claims.

Computations of the compensation depends on the kind of resort, number of visitors and the corresponding losses it incurred during the oil spill. Should a resort owner demand a much higher compensation, the IOPCF will ask the claimant to back up his claim with supporting papers or documents.

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IMAGINE that! P30,000 in payment for untold losses in one’s livelihood. Nobody knows how long the fishermen will not be able to work. And yet, they all agreed to accept such low payments. Does anyone get the feeling that the fisherfolk are being shortchanged by IOPCF? Where was the provincial government during these negotiations? Who helped the fisherfolk negotiate for the oil spill claims? Dang! Where are the ambulance chasers when you need them?

Nawalan na ng hanap-buhay, na-denggoy pa! Ay, caramba!

Agriculture dep’t trains Guimaras farmers on veggie production

THE Department of Agriculture’s regional field unit 6 conducted a marathon training in vegetable production for farmers affected by the Petron oil spill last Aug. 11. The training covered five municipalities in Guimaras.

Training started in the municipality of Sibunag last November 21 and 22 and was attended by 50 farmer-participants.

According to Jindra Linda L. Demeterio, OIC of DA-RFU 6, the training will equip the identified beneficiaries with basic vegetable production knowledge and post-harvest handling with emphasis on container-based gardening.

“The participants will be given garden tools such as a hoe and trowel and open-pollinated variety (OPV) vegetable seeds like eggplants, sweet pepper, pole sitao and squash. Also one unit drum for rain trapping and one sack organic fertilizer will be availed by the farmer participants,” Dir. Demeterio added.

The municipality of San Lorenzo hosted the second training where some 50 farmers participated in the lecture/discussion and workshop on new technologies on vegetable production.

Nueva Valencia, which was badly affected by the country’s worst oil spill caused by the sinking of M/T Solar I, will be the third to host the training on Nov. 27 to 29, 2006. This will be conducted in two separate venues namely, Barangay Igdarapdap and Barangay Lucmayan, with 40 and 50 expected farmer participants, respectively.

The fourth and fifth trainings will be held at the municipalities of Jordan and Buenavista on Dec. 5 and 6, and Dec. 7 and 8, respectively. Some 60 farmers are also expected to attend the training.

The DA-RFU 6 allotted P10,000 for every municipality for the conduct of this training for the farmers who requested for the vegetable seeds.

Nelly Felarca and Felecitas Neturada, who are in-charge of vegetable production at Western Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center (WESVIARC), were the resource persons for the training, together with technicians from provincial and municipal units.

Felarca said the training focused on producing organic or chemical-free vegetables in the households. This can be an alternative livelihood for the farmers who requested for specific vegetable seeds from the DA.

Topics discussed were agro-ecosystem analysis, an overview of vegetables industry, crops management, crops protection, container vegetable production and post-harvest handling. (The News Today, Nov. 29, 2006)

Experts still ‘clueless’ on oil spill damage, rehab

PCAMRD deputy director Cesar Pagdilao, NDCC executive officer Glenn Rabonza, WWF president Lorenzo Tan, UPV chancellor Dr. Glenn Aguilar (standing left) and Petron chair Nicasio Alcantara in a chit-chat before the press conference on the two-day scientific consultation on the Solar 1 Oil Spill. (FAA, The Guardian Iloilo)

By Francis Allan L. Angelo
The Guardian Iloilo
Nov. 29, 2006

HOW long will it take to rehabilitate Guimaras and how much will it cost to bring back the island to its feet after the devastating effects of the M/T Solar I oil spill?

Even the scientific community is still groping for answers as they continue to project the actual damage and the length and cost of rehabilitation of the island province.

Scientists, economists and sociologists yesterday concluded the two-day scientific conference on the Solar Oil Spill aimed at laying down the foundations for the rehabilitation of Guimaras, 109 days after the worst ecological accident in the country hit Guimaras on August 11.

After the presentation of 43 various papers on the environmental, social and economic effects of the oil spill, figures on the actual damage and duration of the rehabilitation process have yet to be determined.

The conference was spearheaded by the University of the Philippines-Visayas (UPV), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Petron Corp.

Dr. Glenn Aguilar, UPV chancellor, said the conference was meant to integrate all scientific findings of “rapid assessments” conducted in the aftermath of the oil spill.

Aguilar said it is very difficult to come up with an overall status of Guimaras as the scientific studies were done on a component basis.

“Each assessment was conducted in their own unique focus and time frame although the same methodology was used. We still have to polish and strengthen their findings so we can come up with a holistic picture (of the island). The studies were done on a very rapid manner so we must give the experts time to fix their reports,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar said the outputs of the two-day conference were not very detailed and will be subject to another gathering after Christmas break.

The UPV chancellor also debunked notions that the assessments, particularly on the environment and health aspects, were conflicting.

“The data presented even reinforced each study. We will just have to subject them to a more focused discussion and intensive polishing of the experts,” Aguilar said.

Lory Tan, WWF president, said the lack of data on oil spill in tropical countries like the Philippines is hampering the projections on rehabilitation of the island.

Tan said the conference achieved the aim of extracting data which will be used to map out protocols and responses to similar ecological accidents.

Interestingly, Guimaras Governor JC Rahman Nava was absent in the press conference. But General Glenn Rabonza, executive officer of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, said Nava already has a plan for their province “which will be enriched by the scientific data.”

The conference was attended by more than 100 participants who discussed major topics on biological, physico-chemical and fisheries, socio-economics and health aspects of the oil spill.

One of the scientific results Aguilar presented during the press conference was the effects of the oil spill on mangroves.

At present, 45 percent of mangroves in Guimaras are contaminated with five of 30 species already dying.

Rapid assessments also show no massive destruction of corals. Mortalities were also notices in some seagrass areas covered by all but the effects are insignificant in terms of total cover.

MORE ‘clueless’ news in SunStar and Visayan Daily Star. Pity.