Conflicting reports on oil spill cleanup

By Erly C. Garcia
The News Today, Dec. 18, 2006

WHILE Guimaras residents affected by the oil spill which occurred four months ago started receiving their compensation claims last week, certain sectors wanted Petron Corp. to return to the oil spill-affected areas to conduct further clean up operations.

Petron, in its Ligtas Guimaras web site, reported that as of the second week of November, it had cleaned 100 percent of affected shorelines, collecting around 6,000 metric tons of debris.

It said the report was validated by the inspections made by Task Force SOS (Solar 1 Oil Spill), a multi-agency group composed of officials from the local government units; the Departments of Health, Environment and Natural Resources, Social Welfare and Development; and the Philippine Coast Guard.

But Vicente Zerrudo, Task Force SOS coordinator, on December 6 informed Guimaras Gov. JC Rahman Nava that there are still traces of bunker oil in five villages of Nueva Valencia, Guimaras that needed to be cleaned up.

Zerrudo identified the five villages as barangays Lapaz, San Roque, Lucmayan, Tando and Cabalagnan. He reported the presence of thick bunker oil under the sand in said areas. He also reported that around 200 sacks of oily debris were abandoned by Petron in Sitio Sumirib, Brgy. Lapaz.

Zerrudo said bunker fuel also becomes vastly visible during low tide in certain areas.

He also noted that barangays Sebario, Igcauayan, Lebas, M. Chavez, Cabano, and Suclaran in San Lorenzo town were not totally cleaned of bunker oil.

In his letter to Gov. Nava, Zerrudo recommended that Petron resume its clean-up operation and concentrate on the areas where mangroves were totally affected.

Petron in its Ligtas Guimaras report said it has excluded mangrove areas in its clean-up operations “since we were advised by experts not to touch these highly sensitive ecosystems.

It said, the DENR, in coordination with the University of the Philippines-Visayas is overseeing the cleanup of the mangrove areas.

Meanwhile, the provincial government of Guimaras reported that it has yet to receive the P800 million financial aid that the national government had committed for its rehabilitation.

Last week, The News Today obtained information that part of funds intended for Guimaras was realigned to aid the typhoon victims in Albay.

Albay was badly devastated by supertyphoon Reming weeks ago.

In a related development, the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF) last week initially released some P2 million in compensation to Guimaras fisherfolk affected by the oil spill disaster.

Delay seen in fishers’ oil spill compensation

By Maricar M. Calubiran
The News Today, Dec. 18, 2006

FISHERFOLK from the town of Nueva Valencia, Guimaras affected by the oil spill may meet some delay in receiving their compensation claims from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF).

An IOPCF official said the municipal officials failed to turn over the rectified copies of their compensation claim forms to the organization.

IOPCF Claims Manager Capt. Patrick Joseph said they have not received the rectified copies of the oil spill claim forms in Nueva Valencia as well as the forms showing the claimants approved the payment offered by their organization. These forms are used by the IOPCF as basis for the issuance of checks to the claimants. The organization wants to make sure that the names written on the checks are correct.

Joseph was reacting to the the clamor of oil spill victims in Nueva Valencia for a faster release of their checks after they found out that the IOPCF has started releasing the compensation of fisherfolk in the municipality of San Lorenzo. The IOPCF has allocated some P22 million for the oil spill victims in San Lorenzo.

There are 1,339 legitimate oil spill compensation claimants in San Lorenzo. The check were released beginning last Thursday and distributed at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol. The IOPCF team wanted to finish releasing all oil checks before yearend.

Joseph said they have done their part as far as the processing and releasing of claims. The team has reminded the municipal government of Nueva Valencia to submit the corrected copies of their residents’ claim forms.

Joseph did not specifically name the official they are dealing with in Nueva Valencia. However, it was learned that the claims of the oil spill victims in Nueva Valencia are being handled by Mayor Diosadado Gonzaga and Guimaras Gov. JC Rahman Nava.

Joseph said he has no idea what caused the delay of the submission of these claim forms to the IOPCF. “Politics” has nothing to do with the releasing of the claims of fisherfolks from San Lorenzo, he said.

Oil spill task force still waiting for scientific analysis

ILOILO City – Task Force Solar I Oil Spill (TF SOS) Incident Commander and Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas Rafael Coscolluela said they are still waiting for the results of the scientific analysis conducted in Guimaras before they could issue a Clean Bill of Health certificate.

A sampling test was conducted by experts on sediments and water a month ago. The samples taken in the island were sent to Manila for a laboratory analysis.

“I know we can be a little too technical about this but the sentiment is, without scientific backing, we don’t have a basis for issuing a clean bill of health,” he explained.

“Although as per inspection, all indications showed that we could already issue,” he added.

Coscolluela hopes that within the week or next week, the result will be sent back here in Iloilo City.

He lamented the slow process but he said they have no option because there are no available laboratory facilities in the region to conduct rapid analysis. (Panay News, Dec. 18, 2006)

Petron sales improve despite boycott threat

By DAVID ISRAEL SINAY
Panay News, Dec. 18, 2006

ILOILO City – Notwithstanding the calls to boycott its products due to the oil spill in Guimaras brought about by the sinking of M/T Solar 1 it chartered to carry its 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel, Petron Corp. announced that its retail market share in the Visayas region has in fact improved.

“Our market share is improving on a year-on-year and a month-on-month basis for the Visayas region although it dipped slightly in October,” Public Affairs Officer Raffy Ledesma said, referring to Petron’s Visayas retail market shares report (relative to other oil majors) covering the months of August to October.

Based on the data released by Petron, in August 2006 the oil company had a market share of 42.8 percent compared in August 2005 where it only had a 41.43 percent from its petroleum products sales – Blaze 96+, XCS Plus 95, Xtra UNL 93, RLF Regular, DieselMax, Gasul and lubricants.

On August 21, 10 days after the tanker sunk, several municipal mayors from the coastal towns of Iloilo province met with Gov. Niel Tupas Sr. and agreed to boycott Petron products in their aim to force the oil company to re-float the vessel to prevent further damage it may cause to the environment.

Dumangas Mayor Rolando Distura initiated the attempts because the slick from the ill-fated Solar 1 continues to ravage Guimaras and threatens the coastal towns of Iloilo and Negros Occidental.

Aside from Distura, the mayors from the municipalities of Barotac Nuevo Banate, Ajuy, Concepcion and Carles had concurred with the idea following confirmation that sheens from the sunken vessel already reached their shoreline at that time.

On September 2006, a month after the August oil spill, Petron’s market share even increased by four percent, equivalent to 43.2 percent, from the previous month, Ledesma revealed. Also, a vast increase was observed compared to September last year’s 41.72 percent only.

“We have always strived to give our consumers only world-class quality products and services. Despite this unfortunate incident, out customers continue to trust and patronize the Petron brand,” Petron Public Affairs Manager Virginia Ruivivar said in a statement.

In October this year, the company’s market share reached 42.9 percent while on the same month last year, it has a market share of 41.71 percent.

Ledesma said, “we estimate that oil consumption has dropped by about 10 percent industry-wide versus last year. We saw the bellwether Dubai crude hit at all-time highs in July and August this year.”

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Buti pa ang Petron me improvement sa sales. E ang mga tiga-Guimaras naapekto ng oil spill, me improvement ba ang buhay? Thank you for this most enlightening press release story.