MANILA, Philippines — The Senate environment panel chaired by Sen. Cynthia Villar is set to start an inquiry into the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro and its impacts to marine biodiversity.
Villar on Wednesday filed Senate Resolution No. 537 which directs her committee to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the oil spill from sunken MT Princess Empress that is causing "surmounting damage" to marine biodiversity and fisheries.
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The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute estimated that the slick produced by the oil spill may affect 20,000 hectares of coral reefs, 9,900 hectares of mangroves, and 6,000 hectares of seagrass beds in Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan and Antique.
Villar also raised concern about the threats posed by the oil spill to the Verde Island Passage, a marine corridor that is extremely rich in marine biodiversity and is dubbed as the “center of the center of marine shorefish biodiversity.”
“Apart from the environmental damage to the marine ecosystem, biodiversity, fisheries and tourism, the livelihood and health of the people in the area are already adversely affected by the said oil spill,” she said.
The bans on fishing and swimming leave fishers, vendors, and tourism workers short on cash and food.
Authorities are racing to recover the sunken MT Princess Empress which was carrying 800,000 liters of industrial oil when it suffered engine failure and sank in rough waters.
The Philippine Coast Guard on Wednesday placed an oil spill boom around the possible location of MT Princess Empress to help contain the oil leaked by the sunken tanker.
The vessel is thought to be lying at about 1,200 feet or 400 meters below sea level. Authorities will deploy a remotely-operated vehicle to pin-point its exact location. — with reports from Xave Gregorio