Oriental Mindoro oil spill reaches shore in 3 towns

MANILA, Philippines — The shorelines in three towns in Oriental Mindoro have been affected by an oil spill from the motor tanker MT Prince Empress that sank in the waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said it is working double time to secure the shorelines of Naujan, Pola and Pinamalayan.

The PCG said it is implementing measures to contain the source of the oil spill and recover spilt oil aside from conducting spill assessment.

It said oil spill stranding was monitored along the shore in Barangay Buhay na Tubig in Pola.

As of yesterday afternoon, the oil spill had reached an area six kilometers long and four kilometers wide.

The oil tanker was carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel when it encountered engine problem and drifted due to rough seas before it sank.

PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said the agency is ready to deploy oil spill booms and dispersants, among other resources.

“We’re still hoping na sana ito lang ang langis na ginagamit ng barko, pero hindi tayo nagpapakakampante, sinusuri na po ito ng mga eksperto ng marine environmental protection command kasama ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR),” Balilo said.

The DENR announced yesterday the creation of Task Force Naujan Oil Spill.

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga designated DENR Undersecretary and chief of staff Marilou Emi, who served as corporate ground response coordinator when an oil spill occurred in Guimaras in 2006, as task force head.

The creation of the task force was agreed upon after an emergency meeting of the DENR with the PCG, Oriental Mindoro Gov. Bonz Dolor and Naujan Mayor Henry Joel Teves.

Twenty-one locally managed marine protected areas are threatened by the oil spill, according to the DENR.

Fr. Edu Gariguez, convenor of the Protect the Verde Island Passage (VIP), raised concern that the oil spill would affect marine life in the area.

The 1.4 million-hectare VIP, which is called the ”center of the center of marine shorefish biodiversity,” is home to over 300 coral species, underwater rock canyons, reef formations and 60 percent of known shore fish species in the world. – Evelyn Macairan