Two petitions to stop the oil exploration in the Tañon Strait have been filed in the Supreme Court yesterday.
The first petition, from the fisher folks of Aloguinsan and Pinamungajan, was filed first then the second petition, which was from the marine mammals.
Vince Cinches, executive director of the Fisherfolks Development Center who also filed the case in the high court along with lawyer Gloria Ramos, said the legal action they did was just one of the many things they will be doing to stop the exploration.
Even if the oil exploration will initially end on January next year, Cinches said they still believe that it is a long and continuing project of the government, which is part of the efforts to obtain local sources for oil to meet its increasing demand.
Cinches said they might also file another case in the local courts in behalf of the fisherfolks of Aloguinsan and Pinamungajan.
Department of Energy regional director, Antonio Labios, said that due to the government’s lack of funds and technological capacity, it sought the help of Japan and Canada, which have already been undertaking oil explorations in the country.
On February 2005, the DOE awarded the Tañon exploration contract to a Japanese company, JAPEX, which in turn committed to invest up to US$12.7 million for a seven-year exploration program. — Phoebe Jen Indino/RAE