Saturday, July 19, 2008 50-kilometer oil spill endangers motorists
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Motorists who intend to pass through the highway linking Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat and Makilala town in North Cotabato are advised to go slow.
This as oil spilled by a still unidentified tanker has made the road very slick and accident-prone.
The spill, according to Jun Rapiz of Kidapawan City, stretches from the rotunda in Tacurong City up to Makilala highway.
"It spans about 50 kilometers," said Datu Adbulkarim Madidis, municipal administrator of Datu Paglas in Maguindanao.
Rapiz said the spill poses danger to the commuting public.
Rapiz himself said he lost his balance while driving his motorcycle along the stretch of the highway in Buluan town around 5:30 a.m. Friday.
He and his back rider suffered minor injuries in the legs.
Madidis meanwhile said he ordered a thorough probe of the spill, which happened early Friday morning.
"We were told the tanker proceeded to Davao City after a repair was done somewhere in Makilala. We want to know who should be responsible for the spill," Madidis said.
The cleanup, according to him, would take weeks.
"It's not easy to clean the spill. It might affect the residents in the area, knowing the spill spans about 50 kilometers, and many towns along the highway are affected," stressed Madidis.
Affected areas include Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat; Buluan and Datu Paglas in Maguindanao; and Tulunan, M'lang, and Makilala in North Cotabato. (MCM)
