So to those with problems with the organization, kindly contact the Securities and Exchange Commission. If your relatives are missing, call the local police. I will not publish any comments on NELFI.
Thank you for your understanding.
Site administrator
Phil. Star, April 20, 2008
GUIMARAS – The Department of Tourism (DOT) launched here on Saturday a United Nations-funded ecological park which aims to revive tourism two years after a major oil spill hit the island province.
Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said the Guisi Discovery Quest would provide jobs to communities affected by the oil spill, particularly residents of the hardly-hit town of Nueva Valencia.
“The Department of Tourism consistently promotes the local attractions and activities in this area to show the healing capabilities of ecological tourism to a distressed community and its environment,” Durano said in a press conference.
Although he could not say that the province has fully recovered from the disaster, Durano said that the Guimaras “is better now” than in the previous years.
Durano said about 18 percent of the coastal areas of the island was affected by the oil spill. But he said alternative livelihood has been provided by the government to residents who are highly dependent on
fishing.
Durano said the entire province would benefit from this venture by providing them opportunities to work as guides, kitchen staff and maintenance crew to varied nature-based programs. (Helen Flores)
DR. Kent E. Carpenter’s credentials speak for him. He has worked for more than five years in the field in our country, and has even taught the subject of Ichthyology at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, a fact not mentioned in that Panay News article by Alain Russ Dimzon, a developmental journalist of unassailable repute and a revered and nationally-acclaimed poet of social consciousness in the medium of Hiligaynon poetry.
Ilonggo marine biologists and scientists are among the best and brightest in the country if not this part of Asia; these same scientists have accepted the research of Dr. Carpenter and welcomed it as a bright beacon in our otherwise all-too-often sullied efforts at marine conservation and protection.
The following are web sites covering the work and research done by Dr. Carpenter: www.oneocean.org; www.iucn.org; and
www.sci.odu.edu.
Simply put, using a scientific approach, together with a colleague who is even more renowned and respected in the scientific world, Dr. Carpenter in his study has posited the thesis that the epicenter of marine shore fish biodiversity is right here in central Philippines, nowhere else in the world. The central Philippines is the marine equivalent of the Amazon river basin rainforest in terms of number of species per unit area. This revelation, startling as it is, should be a source of pride for all Filipinos. This link directs you to the PDF file of said study, as published in the scientific journal Environmental Biology of Fishes last year. The paper itself understandably replete with technicalese, the www.oneocean.org page cited above will help in understanding the import of Dr. Carpenter’s study, and as correctly presented by Mr. Dimzon in that Panay News article, it is this:
Our marine resource is not only a national treasure and a national heritage; it belongs to the rest of the world as well. Dr. Carpenter is here and spending precious time and effort in letting us be aware of this heritage. The rest is up to us. This unique heritage is not forever, nor self-sustaining; the Philippines is after all number one among those countries with the most threatened ecosystems and the most threatened species. For our sake and the sake of our children and their children’s children, we must help each other in the effort towards protection and conservation of what has been so generously endowed to us. We must do our part in sharing our knowledge and education with those whom we feel such strong empathy for, as is evident in what you have repeatedly expressed not only in this comment but also in your comments on the the SEAFDEC findings on the state of Guimaras corals in the aftermath of this oil spill tragedy.
Together, let us look at our fisherfolk in the eye and say, “Unless you fish sustainably, you won’t have any fish left out there.” These are not my words. I am merely quoting Kent E. Carpenter.
Most respectfully yours,
JOSE GERARDO G. DEZA
HERE’s an updated list of donors to the provincial government of Guimaras’ Project Sunrise, which set up a trust fund to accept monetary aid from good kind and generous people like you.
If you wish to extend assistance, please go to Project Sunrise’s web site for particulars. Click here.
By DR. REX BALEÑA
Panay News, Oct. 15, 2006
(One cannot help but be upset by the barrage of negative impressions articulated by International Oil Pollution Compensation Deputy Director Joe Nichols. Upon reading, among others, David Sinay’s October 13, 2006 Panay News article, Journalists lash at IOPC exec for downplaying oil spill, Dr. Rex Baleña, an outspoken Ilonggo ocean scientist, is obliged to react. – Ed.)
DIRECTOR Joe Nichols belittles Filipino mentality by depicting many of us including the media as some harbinger of “negative views.” How can he urge observers “not to tell lies but only think positive” about the negative?
He wants everybody to wait and imagine Oil Spill in Wonderland? We worry about people in distress, and he sounds engrossed with eco-tourism! What is wrong with asking? He himself may profess and model positivism.
Already, the community actualizes critical thinking through the free press in a healthy societal exercise, and he seems only to interrupt this process with negativism and misconstruction. Was he ill-advised? This is no longer the 16th Century!
Meanwhile, where have all the “scientists” gone? What have they been very busy about?
Face the media! The public is curious and concerned, intrigued more by pronouncements that sound confusing, conflicting, or unsettling – in fact, regrettable like some statements by Nichols.
It is desired that the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) responds fully to valid queries, and I urge Nichols to stay away from this job. Indeed, in fairness, he is not the focal issue. Particularly, for a foreigner to insinuate suppression of expression is not as insulting as alarming an advice to Filipinos.
Shall we all face the music? For instance, we have yet to be convinced by the rationale of delayed action. I thought I heard that the Guimaras incident is too smalltime a case? If so, what is taking experts from showing us how? Weather is too familiar a scapegoat, said ad infinitum, “ad nauseum.”
Time windows for field operations exist even during the typhoon seasons. Of course, this can be demonstrated. Just do not throw the blame to any one of us?
Let us liberate one another from all sorts of unnecessary suspicions. Transparency even in communication is essential to credibility. For a start, allow mediamen their job. Afterall, they were the ones who belabored, among others, to report varied information since Day 1!
(SITE ADMINISTRATOR): Hey guys, hope you like the new theme of this blog. Looks neater no? Keep enjoying the reads!
BY CARLA GOMEZ
Visayan Daily Star
Sept. 21, 2006
PETRON must give a specific timetable for the siphoning out of the bunker fuel from the sunken MT Solar 1 off the coast of Guimaras, Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon said yesterday.
Jose Campos, Petron vice president for marketing, said in a letter to the governor earlier that “You can be assured that we will pursue the removal of the remaining oil with the Protection and Indemnity Club and the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund. We will not rest until the environmental threat is eliminated.”
Marañon said while it was good to hear that Petron will pursue the removal of the fuel, he will write the firm again to ask that a definite timetable be set.
MT Solar 1 with 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel sank on Aug. 11 causing an oil spill that has hit the coasts of Guimaras and Iloilo.
Valladolid Mayor Ricardo Presbitero said that until the sunken fuel is removed, people of the coastal towns of Negros Occidental cannot let their guard down as they may also be hit by an oil spill from MT Solar 1.
The demand of the officials of Negros led by the governor is unconditional, Petron must remove the sunken bunker fuel immediately, he said.
“Until the threat is removed, our lives will not return to normal,” Presbitero said.
He said that President Arroyo visited Guimaras three times but the removal of the sunken fuel is still uncertain and the problems of those in Guimaras affected by the oil spill appear to be increasing.
He also said there is talk about a Petron PR fund to condition the minds of the people about the removal of the sunken fuel, but said this was based on speculation.
Meanwhile, he said Valladolid is continuing its preparations to ward off a possible oil spill.
“We will conduct our first oil spill drill on Friday but instead of participants gathering oil, they will be picking up garbage,” he said.
Health Regional Director Lydia Depra Ramos yesterday also stressed the need for Petron to remove the oil spill debris to reduce the threat on the health of the people.
She said that in Guimaras, from 20 to 45 patients a day are treated by DOH personnel for respiratory track infection, while the number of gastro intestinal cases are lower.
“As long as the oil spill debris remains, the people should be vigilant and follow DOH advisories,” she said.
She said those allowed to participate in the work on oil spill in Guimaras should only work five hours a day if they have the proper protective gear, and are between 20 to 50 years.
EDUCATION officials on Sunday agreed to the possibility of using the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in the cleanup of the massive oil spill in the province of Guimaras.
According to Commission on Higher Education Executive Director Julito Vitrolo, this would serve as a good practice and part of the civic duties of the cadets.
“That [using ROTC in oil spill cleanup] is possible and can be part of the civic welfare especially in the matter of disaster management and preparedness,” he said. “Instead of doing drills, they can be productive by helping in removing the oil spill.”
Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, on the other hand, added that the reserves of the Armed Forces of the Philippines should also be included and not just the ROTC.
“That would be a good public service and training. It should include the AFP reserves. This is an opportunity to be relevant in an emergency,” he said as he recalled the role of the national guards in the United States of America during the New Orleans Hurricane.
In the same light the non governmental organization Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas said that the vital role played by ROTC cadets in the cleanup in Guimaras underscores the need to make ROTC mandatory once more.
(For the full story, click ROTC, Sept. 11, 2006.)
By Lory Ann B. Bilbao
ILOILO CITY–The Department of Health (DOH)-Center for Health Development (CHD) in the region is checking on the health condition of 2,749 cleanup and oil containment workers in Guimaras Island.
In the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) report, the DOH here expressed concern over the health safety of cleanup workers as they are the most exposed to oil spill by air and physical contact.
It has recommended that a medical examination of the workers before and after oil spill cleanup will be done.
It was reported that most of the patients who have sought for medical consultations in Provincial Health Office and DOH mobile clinics were cleanup workers.
The DOH also deemed it necessary to completely decontaminate Personal Protective Equipment(PPE)/clothing and contaminated skin in the worksite in a specific area and collect and dispose washings in an environmentally appropriate manner-appropriate PPEs (gloves-neoprene/nitrile, chemical resistant boots, chemical cartridge respirators, coveralls with long pants and goggles).
Air pollutants like hydrogen sulfide were already detected in mostly affected areas in Nueva Valencia like La Paz.
Meanwhile, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said government assistance to the different towns of Guimaras affected by the oil slick will not stop as long as it is needed, even after the Cash for Work Project would no longer be in effect.
Andaya was responding to the many unarticulated questions of the residents of Nueva Valencia and the other barangays affected.
Barangay Salvacion Chairperson Nelfa Gaurana said as long as the jobless fisher folks are engaged in Cash for Work program of Petron and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the effects of the oil spill on their livelihood cannot be intensely felt, but when the project ends, the people will surely feel the pinch of poverty.
About 40 percent of the more than 2,000 population of Barangay Salvacion, the first venue of the National Disaster Coordinating Council Meeting presided by President Arroyo in the island, are dependent on marine resources for their survival.
(For the full stories, click Sunstar, Sept. 9, 2006.)
By Tetch Torres
THE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) says a lack of manpower is making it difficult for the agency to comply with its mandate of ensuring the seaworthiness of ships.
Appearing before the Department of Justice (DoJ) special fact finding investigation on the Visayas oil spill on Friday, Marina Administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. admitted they still rely heavily on the Philippine Coast Guard and other agencies to check the safety of seafaring vessels.
Republic Act 9295 or “An Act Promoting the Development of Philippine Domestic Shipping, Shipbuilding, and Shiprepair and Ship Breaking, Ordaining Reforms in Government Policies Towards Shipping in the Philippines,” gives the Marina the authority to implement maritime laws.
But Suazo said that “because of the many ships to be inspected, we cannot conduct actual inspections (so) that most of the time we rely on the documents submitted by the ship owners like in the case of Solar I,” the tanker whose August 11 sinking caused one of the worst oil spills in the country’s history.
Suazo also informed the DoJ task force, headed by undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, that the Solar I was once Panamanian-registered and known as “Chimaru-8″ and later “New Henase.”
It was later registered in the Philippines under the name “Solar I.”
Suazo said this is allowed under the Bare Boat Chartered Law.
The Japanese incorporators of Sunshine Maritime Development Corp (SMDC), which own the tanker, failed to appear before the DoJ panel.
(From INQ7.net, Sept. 8, 2006.)
• Special Board of Marine Inquiry says refiner could be held liable
By DAVID ISRAEL SINAY
and GEROME DALIPE IV
GUIMARAS – Giant oil refiner Petron Corp. could be held liable for the oil spill that damaged the marine resources of Guimaras, the livelihood of its people, fishing grounds and marine sanctuaries, said a top-ranking Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official.
Rear Admiral Danilo Abinoja, chair of the Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI), rapped Petron for M/T Solar 1’s overloading. He said the tanker’s sinking could have been averted.
Abinoja’s position on Petron’s liability contrasts that of a Department of Justice undersecretary who cleared the oil refiner of criminal liability.
Solar 1 was chartered by Petron to transport its 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel oil to Zamboanga. It sank in the rough seas of the Guimaras Strait and spilled about 250,000 liters of oil.
The spill destroyed mangroves, fishing grounds and marine sanctuaries in Guimaras and nearby Negros Occidental and Iloilo provinces.
The SBMI is investigating the sinking to determine those culpable. Initial findings showed that the tanker was overloaded “not by fuel.”
“There were other cargoes loaded in the vessel… The vessel should not go beyond the 4.86 meters drop mark,” Abinoja told Panay News.
In Iloilo City, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Liza Maza denounced Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez for issuing “visibly disturbing statements” that tend to tarnish the reputation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) that is investigating the Guimaras oil spill.
“I think the Justice Secretary should not issue any visibly disturbing statements on behalf of the DOJ; the investigation on oil spill is not yet finished,” Maza told a news conference yesterday.
An investigating panel by the DOJ cleared Petron Corp., the country’s largest oil firm, of criminal liability in the sinking of the MT Solar I last September 5.
Justice Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, chair of the fact-finding team, however, said that Petron may still have civil liability because it commissioned the ill-fated tanker.
“We are still studying the civil liability of Petron but criminally, we don’t have a case against it because it had no direct knowledge of the circumstances that led to the sinking … [We found no] criminal liability on the part of Petron, only civil liability,” Pineda said in a radio interview.
(For the full stories, click Panay News, Sept. 8, 2006.)
By Hazel P. Villa
ILOILO CITY – The regional Department of Environment and Natural Resources sounded the alarm for the proper treatment of oil-smeared mangroves after “an unidentified clean-up force” was seen cutting the roots and branches of the trees in two villages of Nueva Valencia,
Guimaras.
Cutting their roots and branches “is harmful to the mangrove trees because it will open (these) to further infection and will affect salt balance that will ultimately cause the death of mangroves,” said Julian D. Amador, environment regional executive director.
Amador, in a statement, quoted the DENR mangrove survey team that reported an unidentified clean-up force cutting the prop roots of several mangrove species in the villages of Lucmayan and Cabalagnan this week in worst-hit Nueva Valencia.
Petron Corp., which contracted the MT Solar I that was carrying 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel oil when it sank off Guimaras on August 11, has hired more than 1,000 residents who are paid 300 pesos a day for clean-up operations.
The prop roots contain lenticels, which are the breathing organs of the Bakauan (Rhizophora) species.
(For the full story, click Cleaning up, Sept. 7, 2006. Illustration courtesy anjuli.)
•Embarrassing if WV doesn’t take legal action, says solon
By HAZEL P. VILLA
and RYAN B. LACHICA
ILOILO City – It would be truly embarrassing if the local governments of Western Visayas (WV) don’t take legal actions against those responsible for the Philippines’ worst oil spill, said Cong. Teddy Boy Locsin (Makati)yesterday.
“The leaders in the areas affected by the oil spill should at least do (take legal action) so by now. The legal action should be at the same speed in which the impeachment proceeding against the President was referred to the committee,” said Locsin in a telephone interview. Locsin is a lawyer by training.
Meanwhile, local government units in Negros Occidental have been directed to submit a report on expenses incurred in preparation for the possible reaching of the Guimaras oil spill in their territorial waters.
In issuing the directive, the provincial government said it wants to make sure that the P5 million released by the Office of the Civil Defense for the purpose would be fairly shared by the local governments.
Provinces composing Western Visayas are Guimaras, Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Negros Occidental – with the waters of Iloilo and Negros under direct threat of being further polluted by the bunker fuel oil that leaked out of oil tanker MT Solar 1 that sank in southern Guimaras on August 11.
Locsin said it is the duty of the mayors, governors and congressmen of WV to take or call for legal actions against those responsible for the oil spill considering that Petron Corp. is denying its legal liability for the spill.
The congressman said he advised Guimaras Gov. JC Rahman Nava to sue oil refiner Petron Corp. for negligence.
Although that threat of the oil spill seems to have remained just that, the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental is not taking chances.
Gov. Joseph Marañon said local governments would be given funds “according to their needs.”
As this developed, the coconut husks that the provincial government ordered from Dumaguete City had arrived and is being distributed to coastal towns; coconut husk can be used in making spill booms.
(Click Panay News, Sept. 5, 2006, for the rest of the pieces.)
A SOUTH African petroleum company, Engen Petroleum Ltd., considers crude oil hazardous to one’s health and on its web site, notes that the product “contains polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs). Under conditions of poor personal hygiene and prolonged repeated contact, some PACs have been suspected as a cause of skin cancer in humans. Overexposure to benzene can result in blood disorders and damage to the bone marrow. In rare instances leukemia has also been reported. Possible skin irritation and dermatitis. Respiratory irritation, dizziness, nausea, loss of consciousness.” Click here for its hazard page.
Also, click the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more information on the effects of benzene exposure.
These are the health risks being faced by the unprotected volunteers and workers cleaning up the Guimaras oil spill.
THE Oil Program of the US Environmental Protection Agency is a good resource for dealing with emergencies such as the Guimaras Oil Spill. Click here for more information. The US is one of the very few countries that has an Oil Pollution program, which was drawn up due to the Exxon Valdez accident.
Also, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has downloadable manuals on dealing with oil spills on its web site. Click Responding to oil spills to read and download.
ON March 24, 1989, shortly after midnight, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling more than 11 million gallons of crude oil. The spill was the largest in U.S. history and tested the abilities of local, national, and industrial organizations to prepare for, and respond to, a disaster of such magnitude. Many factors complicated the cleanup efforts following the spill. The size of the spill and its remote location, accessible only by helicopter and boat, made government and industry efforts difficult and tested existing plans for dealing with such an event.
The spill posed threats to the delicate food chain that supports Prince William Sound’s commercial fishing industry. Also in danger were ten million migratory shore birds and waterfowl, hundreds of sea otters, dozens of other species, such as harbor porpoises and sea lions, and several varieties of whales.
Since the incident occurred in open navigable waters, the U.S. Coast Guard’s On-Scene Coordinator had authority for all activities related to the cleanup effort. His first action was to immediately close the Port of Valdez to all traffic. A U.S. Coast Guard investigator, along with a representative from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, visited the scene of the incident to assess the damage. By noon on Friday, March 25, the Alaska Regional Response Team was brought together by teleconference, and the National Response Team was activated soon thereafter.
Alyeska, the association that represents seven oil companies who operate in Valdez, including Exxon, first assumed responsibility for the cleanup, in accordance with the area’s contingency planning. Alyeska opened an emergency communications center in Valdez shortly after the spill was reported and set up a second operations center in Anchorage, Alaska.
The Coast Guard quickly expanded its presence on the scene, and personnel from other Federal agencies also arrived to help. EPA specialists in the use of experimental bioremediation technologies assisted in the spill cleanup and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was involved in providing weather forecasts for Prince William Sound, allowing the cleanup team to adapt their methods to changing weather conditions. Specialists from the Hubbs Marine Institute in San Diego, California, set up a facility to clean oil from otters, and the International Bird Research Center of Berkeley, California, established a center to clean and rehabilitate oiled waterfowl.
Three methods were tried in the effort to clean up the spill:
•Burning
•Mechanical Cleanup
•Chemical Dispersants
(Originally published on the US Environmental Protection Agency web site. Click here to read the rest of the piece. Needless to say, speed is always the key to resolving any emergency.)
THE northewestern part of the Guimaras Strait is safe for swimming, and fish and other marine products caught in the area are safe for swimming, accroding to Secretary Arthur Yap, chief of the Presidential Management Staff.
Quoting sources from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Yap made the announcement in an interview aired over radio station dzBB.
BFAR officials said that fishes instinctively avoid contaminated areas.
On August 11, the MT Solar I sank off the southern coast of Guimaras Island due to turbulent seas brought about by the monsoon season. It was carrying 2.1 million liters of oil, about 10 percent of which has leaked out to sea and affected some 40,000 residents of the island province.
(Originally published on GMA News web site, Aug. 26, 2006)
Oil spill
MOST of the national attention has focused on the ongoing recovery efforts off Guimaras coast where a sunken oil tanker is spilling more of its oil into the waters and already killing scores of marine life and severely damaging the marine ecosystem there.
What makes this tragedy doubly painful is the fact that the national government is already being stretched thin with its recovery of overseas contract workers in Lebanon–which thankfully is being reduced significantly by the day–and the ongoing evacuation for residents near the Mt. Mayon vicinity.
While the number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) keeps going down in Lebanon and Mt. Mayon has yet to fully launch its own explosion in Legazpi, frogmen and rescue teams are hard at work, though seeing little success in their operations in Guimaras.
Last time we heard, the oil spill was spreading to nearby areas with at least six towns in Iloilo province under threat from the oil spill.
Already it has ruined 300 kilometers of coastline, 500 hectares of mangroves and 60 hectares of seaweed plantations affecting 26,000 residents of Guimaras.
(Originally published in the Sunstar web site, Aug. 24, 2006. Click here for the rest of the piece.)
PLEASE take time to sign the online petition re: the Guimaras oil spill. Due pressure should be exerted for the responsible parties to duly clean up the mess and afford proper reparations to the environmental damage they caused as well as the prejudice they have caused to the inhabitants.
Visit this site to sign: Guimaras Oil Spill Petition
Oying Pineda
http://oyingpineda.blogspot.com/
http://dharmawheel.blogspot.com/
(Via pldt@yahoogroups.com)
THIS blog is for you! You are all invited to post your stories, views, analyses, photos, and other relevant pieces about the Guimaras oil spill on this blog. No renumeration, of course, but an opportunity to reach out and educate the public (and perhaps Petron Corp.) about this disaster.
You may post directly on this blog or email me at akosistella@yahoo.com .
Thank you.
Site administrator
HI all!
I’d like to give you all a very brief update on Petron’s “efforts” re: the oil spill. I am quoting this word for word from the news updates I receive on my cellphone (source: abs-cbn news room).
“Petron Corp on Wednesday said it has no legal obligation to pay for the oil spill cleanup in Guimaras. As cargo owner, Petron said it did not cause the spill on August 11. Petron said it has organized a ‘cash-for-work’ project to clean up Guimaras’ shoreline of sludge from the sunken tanker.”
My interpretation of this news piece is that the burden of the cleanup is up to the people of Guimaras (or Negros). That if no one volunteers for the program, no cleanup will happen. The pace of the cleanup, therefore, will depend on how many people will sign up for their “cash-for-work” program. Meanwhile, the sludge will continue to spread out.
It’s a very self-serving program, if you ask me. Basically the Petron guys can wash their hands clean of this oil spill mess by saying, “It’s not our fault nobody showed up. We tried.” And if people do show up to help in the cleanup, they can claim how effective their program was and how it helped bring work (or money) to the townsfolk of Guimaras.
I think Petron’s reaction to all this is despicable. I, for one, do not gas up at Petron anymore. I know that doesn’t make a dent in their sales but I guess it’s a start.
MA-AN (DiveAddicts)
(From Teddy M., Aug. 25, 2006)
STATEMENT OF PETRON CHAIRMAN & CEO NICASIO I. ALCANTARA ON THE GUIMARAS OIL SPILL (August 24, 2006)
WE at Petron, deeply regret this unfortunate incident and will take responsibility in addressing the containment and recovery of the oil spill both on land and sea, and more importantly, map out the long-term rehabilitation of the island of Guimaras and other affected areas.
We are doing everything humanly possible to assist those affected. In our effort to attend to the needs of the people immediately, we may have inadvertently set aside our equally important obligation to keep the media and the rest of the country informed of what we are doing.
Under our Ligtas Guimaras program, we have already cleared 25 kilometers of shoreline and we expect the on-shore clean-up to finish in 45 days. We are currently employing 869 people from affected communities daily and we aim to increase this number in the coming days. We have also deployed about 5% of the total workforce of Petron to participate in the work being done on the island.
In this clean-up and rehabilitation efforts, we would want to make it clear that we have made funds readily available for legitimate expenses and requests. We will continue to commit all necessary Petron resources in support of this effort. We are committed to the solution of this problem.
At sea, we have deployed substantial equipment including oil skimmers, oil spill booms, dispersants, and Waterborne Industry Spill Equipment (WISE) tugboats to combat the oil spill. We have also placed properly-equipped vessels in strategic areas to monitor the oil spill and ensure that this is contained.
As we reported yesterday (Wed., Aug. 23), we are bringing in Fukada Salvage and Marine Works. Their vessel, Shinsei Maru, is equipped with a Remote Operated Vehicle which has the capability to search the seabed down to 2,000 meters and take photos to determine the sunken ship’s exact location and condition. We expect the vessel to arrive before the end of the week and begin its work immediately. This will dictate our next course of action.
We are also in touch with environmental experts from U.P. Visayas, Siliman University and the World Wildlife Fund to develop a long-term rehabilitation plan.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those groups and individuals who have sent their assistance to the province of Guimaras.
In closing, I would like to assure the people of Guimaras that we will be there and do whatever it takes to clean-up and rehabilitate the strait and island of Guimaras and other affected areas.
Maraming salamat!
(From the Petron web site www.petron.com)
——————————————————————————————-
NO, Nick, it wasn’t because you were so involved in the clean-up efforts that you forgot to inform the media what you were doing. In fact, if it weren’t for the media, the public wouldn’t have known how badly your company has managed this crisis. Hell! you even told the PSE that you had “no obligation” to pay for the clean-up and rehabilitation of the area, not to mention, offer any economic aid! (Click here for the story.) Sino ba ang niloloko mo ha?
Anyway, thank you for the inspiring insipid speech.
RESIDENTS on the northeast coast of Panay, which is around 140 kilometers from where the tanker went down, have reported seeing traces of oil, the Office of Civil Defense said Friday.
Oil was also spotted off the west coast of Negros causing at least one town to declare a “state of calamity.” (See earlier post below on GMA’s declaration of a “state of calamity” in Guimaras.)
Since the tanker sank on August 11, 50,000 gallons of oil has leaked into the sea causing black sludge to be washed up on more than 300 kilometers of coastline on Guimaras. It has wrecked the island’s tourism industry and threatened the livelihood of hundreds of fishermen.
However the authorities are involved in a race against time to prevent the remaining 450,000 gallons of oil on the tanker leaking into the sea.
Surveyors from the United States and Japanese coastguards were on the scene to assess the damage and recommend how best to recover the remaining fuel before the tanks burst, the Filipino coastguard said.
A salvage vessel with a remote-controlled mini-submarine from Japan is expected to arrive in the area on Sunday.
Based on the salvage vessel’s findings, the charterer, Petron Corp., will decide whether to try to raise the tanker, or siphon off the oil.
(Originally published on the ABS-CBN news web site on Aug. 25, 2006. Click here for the rest of the story.)
TEXT or call NICK ALCANTARA, Petron chairman and CEO, and tell him exactly how you feel about his company’s dilly-dallying and seeming unwillingness to take responsibility for the damage the oil spill has wrought on Guimaras and other neighboring islands. The impact will remain for many years to come. Alcantara’s cellphone no. is 0917-898-1322.
You may also email Petron spokeswoman VIRGINIA RUIVIVAR at varuivivar@petron.com about how you want the company to be pro-active in the cleanup instead of letting their officials just cool themselves in their airconditioned offices.
THE Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI) has summoned officials of the Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. for allowing its sunken ship, M/T Solar 1, to be manned by a captain and crew members with expired papers, TV Patrol World reported Friday.
Initial investigations conducted by SBMI showed that the certification of Norberto Aguro, the oil tanker’s captain, for General Tanker Familiarization and Advance Training on Chemical Tanker Operations expired in March 2002.
The report added that Aguro’s Certificate of Competency is only for a chemical tanker and that he has no training to man specialized oil tankers, which according to SBMI, are violations of Marine Memo Circular 83.
SBMI also discovered that Solar 1 crew members Herminio Renger, Jesse Angel, Reynaldo Torio and Victor Morados have expired certificates for General Tanker Familiarization.
The panel asked the Professional Regulation Commission to determine if Aguro and the four crewmen violated PRC regulations by using expired licenses and certificates.
The TV Patrol World report said SBMI is also questioning the oil tanker’s owner use of expired Interim Documents of Compliance. SBMI Chairman Danilo Abinoja said the certificate is proof that a ship has proper safety system and avoids tragedies at sea.
The report said Aguro and his crew, officials of the Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. and Petron Corp. are set to face the board Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
The oil tanker sank last August 11 off the coast of Guimaras island in Iloilo province. The tanker has been leaking oil since, which affected coastal villages of the province.
(Originally published on the ABS-CBN News web site, Aug. 25, 2006.)
Greenpeace volunteers assist local fishermen, collecting oil from beaches by hand. (For more photos, click Greenpeace.)
GREENPEACE STATEMENT ON THE OIL SPILL (Aug. 15, 2006)
The Philippine government must hold Petron and its partners accountable for damages to marine and coastal ecosystems and for their rehabilitation. The scale of this oil spill may turn to be even larger than the Semirara oil spill last year and threatens at least three marine reserves in Visayas.
The vessel that sank in Guimaras Strait in the Philippines is an ecological time bomb that may cause long-term and possibly permanent damage to the environment and livelihoods of people. The rich marine and coastal ecosystems in this part of the country provide food and livelihood to communities. Guimaras is also an important tourist destination known for its beaches and seafood.
Oil spills are a very visible reminder that throughout its life cycle, oil can damage our air and our water. Oil causes climate change which in turn triggers extreme weather events. What is clear is that from oil spills to global warming, the price of oil is a lot higher than what we pay at the pump. The only way to avert either of these environmental catastrophes is to reduce our dependence on oil.
In order to prevent new oil spills regulations need to force both the shipping industry and the charterers to operate under the highest standards of ships and crews.
Philippine oil spill claims life
By Sarah Toms
BBC News, Manila
AN oil spill in the central Philippines has claimed its first human victim, with a man dying from breathing the toxic fumes.
In the 12 days since the tanker sank, the huge slick has washed sludge onto huge areas of coastline.
The oil spill has damaged fishing grounds, and polluted dive spots and a national marine reserve.
Health officials say the man inhaled fumes of the thick, tar-like substance outside his home on Guimaras island.
Villagers say skin and breathing problems have become commonplace.
The government has hired locals for the clean-up, paying them less than $4 (£2.11) a day to scoop up the sludge on the shores. Many have no masks and use their bare hands.
(Originally published on BBC News, Aug. 23, 2006. Click here for the rest of the story.)
Click Exxon Valdez
The estimated initial death toll of the Exxon Valdez oil spill included 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, up to 22 killer whales, billions of salmon and herring eggs, and other intertidal plants and animals. Some injured species are still recovering. (Photo from the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council web site.)
BELOW is a map of the oil spill in Guimaras (”borrowed” from the World Wildlife Fund’s web site), showing the affected towns and threatened areas. For a larger image, click here. This map was dated Aug. 21, and as per Sunstar’s report, the spill has already spread wider.
The red areas are where the oil spill has hit the hardest while those in blue are the threatened areas. Mid-point near the bottom of the map is where the oil tanker sank.
By Garry Cabotaje
with Minerva B. Gerodias
CEBU CITY — The surface waters off Madridejos town in Bantayan Island in northern Cebu turned oily Thursday, raising fears that the massive oil spill in Guimaras has already reached and contaminated the Visayan seas.
Both Madridejos Mayor Lety Mancio and environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa confirmed an oil sheen that turned the seawaters off Madridejos into greasy-like liquid that glints in sunlight.
Mancio said the oily surface waters could even be spotted just 300 meters away from the shoreline of Barangay Poblacion.
Local fishermen also found bits and pieces of hardened black materials, which Mancio described as similar to dried asphalt, in a fish sanctuary known as Kapayas shoal, some three or four kilometers from the town’s shoreline.
“Manguros na lang ta ani (We will just make the sign of the cross),” was Oposa’s reaction upon learning from Mancio about the presence of oil sheen in Madridejos.
Oposa, head of the Visayan Sea Squadron and Integrated Bar of the Philippines national environmental team leader, earlier warned authorities that the oil spill in Guimaras Island will reach the Visayan Sea triangle, the major fishing ground for commercial vessels in the Visayas area.
Oil tanker Solar I sank off Guimaras Island last August 11, discharging more than 50,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the seas. Petron Corp. had ordered the bunker fuel.
Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz asked Petron to adopt measures to prevent the oil spill from spreading to the nearby Visayan Sea and Bantayan Island and other threatened areas.
(Originally published on Sunstar web site, Aug. 25, 2006. Click here for the rest of the story.)
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
Reporter
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a state of national calamity on Friday over the Guimaras oil spill and called on concerned government agencies to step up work on the environmental and health problems caused by the disaster.
“I am declaring the Guimaras oil spill as a national calamity that demands the cooperation and solidarity of all Filipinos. Let us do what has to be done first and deal with the blame later,” Arroyo said in a speech at the national convention of the National Prosecutors League of the Philippines in Cebu.
She also called on Petron Corporation and the owner of the sunken tanker Solar I to “immediately clean up the mess.”
Asked if the President was merely describing the situation or actually making an official declaration, Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor told INQ7.net it was an “official declaration.”
Arthur Yap, chief of the Presidential Management Staff, also confirmed the statement as an official declaration meant to allow Arroyo to mobilize all the resources needed to address the crisis wrought by the country’s worst oil spill.
(Originally published on INQ7 web site, Aug. 25, 2006. Click here for rest of the story.)
IT’S ABOUT TIME! 13 days and counting Mrs. President!
You are currently browsing the archives for the Uncategorized category.
| ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLE… on Legislators back Guimaras vs… | |
 | Mike on Oil spill keeps punishing… |
 | akosistella on Inmates go bald, donate hair f… |
 | Viagnette on Inmates go bald, donate hair f… |
 | John Eric Roa on Oil spill keeps punishing… |
