‘Oil spill forced kids to stop schooling’

MANILA, Philippines — A majority of children from families displaced by the oil spill from the sunken motor tanker Princess Empress were forced to stop schooling due to lack of income, an environmental group said yesterday.

The oil continues to spread almost two months since the Empress sank on Feb. 28, according to Gerry Arances, executive director of the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development.

“Aside from damage amounting to billions of pesos and loss of income, the oil spill’s largest impact is the loss of livelihood for small fishers,” Arances said, noting that 80 percent of the affected residents in Oriental Mindoro are fisherfolks.

“A significant number of affected residents are fisherfolks numbering more than 20,000. The distribution of food packs and cash-for-work is not enough to sustain the needs of the families. Many parents have complained that their children have stopped going to school because they can no longer support their studies. Many of them are in college and this is a sad reality,” Arances said.

The leak from the oil tanker persists and threatens the Verde Island Passage (VIP), which is home to vast marine species including sea turtles and sharks.

“As the leak continues, the effect is expected to worsen. Based on science, only 20 percent of the oil is on the surface and 80 percent is underneath, meaning the problem of rehabilitation is huge. It is alarming as this is not the first oil spill in the country,” Arances said.

He cited a similar maritime incident in 2006 in Guimaras. It took 13 years for the island-province to recover from the damage caused by the sinking of motor tanker Solar 1.

Arances said the owner and charterer of the Empress should be made accountable for the destruction in Oriental Mindoro.

Lack of aid decried

Meanwhile, the mayor of Pola town in Oriental Mindoro has criticized what she described as a lack of assistance from the owner of the Empress.

Mayor Jennifer Cruz said the insurance claim being given to affected residents was provided under Republic Act 9483 or the Oil Pollution Law, and is not aid from the owner.

“There is no assistance yet from the owner of the ship as the insurance claim is provided under the anti-pollution law.  The owner has nothing to do with it,” Cruz said.

She confirmed reports that the residents received expired relief goods from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DWSD).

“Maybe these were old stocks. Some of the sardines and rice are no longer fit for human consumption. The DSWD advised us to return these for replacement,” Cruz said.

Fishermen who received P20,000 assistance from President Marcos have been urged to use the money as start-up capital for alternative sources of income.

“We advised them to start a livelihood program in every barangay, where each one can contribute P500 to P1,000, as the oil spill will continue to affect Pola. We expect this to persist for the next months,” Cruz said.

She said the municipal government is planning to acquire sewing machines for the women while the men could fish elsewhere.

“The fishermen can fish in rivers as an alternative livelihood and find other areas where they can sell their catch. The women will sew and sell eco bags,” she said.

On Saturday, fisherfolk from oil spill-affected communities and cause-oriented groups gathered in Pola to commemorate Earth Day.

Members of the Koalisyon ng mga Mangingisdang Apektado ng Oil Spill and Protect Verde Island Passage led the event.

“On Earth Day, we gather together to lament the national government’s inadequacy on one of the worst ecological disasters our country has faced. At least 900,000 liters of industrial oil are leaking into the Verde Island Passage, a center of biodiversity and the source of livelihood for two million Filipinos.

MT Princess Empress is still in the bottom of the sea, the spill has not been contained, reparations have yet to be made, and there is still no mention of who would be brought to justice for the damage done,” Protect VIP lead convenor and social action center director of Calapan Edwin Gariguez said.