Oil spill reaches Paoay town in Ilocos Norte

SAN FERNANDO, La Union, Philippines  â€“ The oil spill that struck coastal areas of La Union a few days ago has reached the shores of Paoay town in Ilocos Norte, according to the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC).

Melchito Castro, RDRRMC chairman, said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and local authorities have been conducting clearing operations since Tuesday to control the spread of oil that supposedly came from a Myanmar vessel that capsized off Bolinao, Pangasinan.

Two PCG patrol boats have been monitoring the Lingayen Gulf to determine the extent of the spillage and its path.

“We distributed around 2,000 sacks and shovels to be used in the clearing operations. It will not affect our marine resources because the oil is floating,” Castro said.   

Capt. Pablo Gonzales Jr., PCG district commander in Northern Luzon, said the spill has reached the shores of Masintoc village in Paoay.

Castro said authorities have yet to determine where the oil spillage originated. According to initial reports though, it could have come from M/V Arita Bauxite, a Myanmar vessel that sank off the coast of Bolinao last Feb. 17.

Some fishermen, however, suspect that the oil could have come from an oil tanker that docked off Bangar town in La Union. 

Cmdr. Armand Balilo, PCG spokesman, however, said initial findings of the Maritime Environmental Protection Command point to the Myanmar ship as the possible culprit of the oil spill, although this is “not yet conclusive.”

“Our technical people are still studying the waves and the wind direction to determine where the oil came from,” Balilo said.

Citing an aerial survey, he said the oil spill was “very minimal and did not affect the whole coastline from La Union to Ilocos Norte.” 

Castro said sludge samples would be sent to Manila to determine the kind of oil that has spilled into the coastal areas.

The spillage was first reported along the shores of this city and in the towns of San Juan, Bacnotan, Luna and Bangar, all in La Union. It later spread to Tagudin, Sta. Cruz, Sta. Lucia, Santiago and San Esteban towns and Candon City in Ilocos Sur.  – With Evelyn Macairan