DENR orders probe into 2nd largest fuel spill in RP

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Elisea Gozun ordered yesterday an investigation into what environmentalists have called the largest fuel spill in Philippine waters since the Bataan oil spill in 1990.

Gozun issued the order as biologically toxic diesel fuel continued to leak out of the M/V Island Explorer, owned by Scuba World Inc. of businessman Juan Wee, which ran aground on the Apo Reef National Park off Mindoro a month ago.

As the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) scrambled to clean up the diesel fuel leaking out of the grounded boat and endangering marine life in Apo Reef, civic groups, led by the Public Interest Law Center (PILC), prepared to file charges against the boat owner.

"We’re running after time," PILC lawyer Marie Yuvienco said in a forum at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. "There’s still five tons of fuel leaking out of the Island Explorer and it may go into the (reef’s) lagoon."

Yuvienco said marine biologists have warned that the fuel that has leaked out of the boat has already killed much of the coral in the reef and is threatening to wreak further irreparable damage if it enters the lagoon.

Studies conducted by a United Nations agency noted that the marine life found in Apo Reef is sensitive to fuel spills.

Yuvienco presented aerial photographs, taken on Saturday, showing the Island Explorer lying on its side atop a reef and surrounded by what appeared to be dying or dead coral.

The lawyer lambasted DENR area official Rodel Boyles and Coast Guard Lt. Allen Dalangin for certifying that there was no fuel leak at the reef.

Environmentalist Trixie Concepcion of Agham confirmed that the fuel spill has already caused great damage to the reef and not only endangers Apo Reef, which serves as a nursery for economically and scientifically valuable marine species, but also the equally rich waters off Palawan island.

Concepcion lamented that when the Island Explorer ran aground on Dec. 20 last year, it tracked a large fuel spill in the country’s otherwise pristine waters.

Concepcion noted that Apo Reef is among the country’s remaining "good condition" reefs and cleaning it up will be a highly technical operation that needs to be started at the soonest time.

Other environmental groups, like Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment and fisherfolk group Pamalakaya, lamented that 38 percent of coral species in the country can be found in the reef and the government’s delayed action is threatening their existence.

"Government authorities and Scuba World should immediately contain the oil spill and launch a clean-up of Apo Reef," said Kalikasan’s Clemente Bautista.

"This incident is second only to the Bataan oil spill of 1990 when some 400 to 500 liters of oil was discharged into our waters," said Cesar Arellano of Pamalakaya.

Arellano said that criminal charges should be filed against Scuba World owner Wee.

Yuvienco said the boat’s owner could be held liable for violating several laws, particularly Presidential Decree No. 600 which prohibits the discharge of fuel into the country’s marine territory.

Scuba World and Wee could also be charged of violating the law on the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) as well as rules issued by the Protected Areas Management Bureau (PAMB), she added.

Yuvienco said Scuba World could also be charged of violating marine safety laws as 24 persons were recorded to have been aboard the vessel at the time of the accident although it was only rated for 16 passengers.

Yuvienco said it will not be the first time for Wee to face raps for violating environmental laws since another dive boat that belongs to Scuba World, M/V Big Blue Explorer, has also been charged of damaging a reef at the German Channel, a popular dive site, in Palau.

In a letter to The STAR, Scuba World denied that some 80,000 liters of bunker fuel were still on board the Island Explorer but confirmed Yuvienco’s claim that some 5,000 liters of fuel still have to be removed from the Apo Reef.

In its letter, Megan Collins of Scuba World corrected some errors in earlier reports, like Island Explorer’s size, weight, fuel capacity and type of fuel.

Collins said "the removal of the vessel has not been completed for the reason that we have opted to assign it to professional salvagers to ensure no further harm to the reef."