Friday, November 24, 2006
IOPC pledges aid for Guimaas fishers before Christmas
By Lory Ann B. Bilbao and Ramon C. Salvilla
SOME 13,000 fisherfolks will receive P6,000 to P30,000 each from International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) as their hazard pay.
Assessment of claims will be through Friday, said IOPC Deputy Director Joe Nichols during a press conference Thursday.
The cost of pay was based on interviews with the affected fisherfolks. Nichols said each fisher was asked of his average fish catch before the Solar 1 sank and affected their livelihood.
The market price is then ascertained, and therefore constitutes some part of the hazard pay.
The pay ranges from P6,000 to P30,000 for the span of three months from the date of the spill which polluted the coasts of Guimaras.
The rate depends on the type of fishing which the fishers were engaged in. As of now, Nichols said there was no fisher that was paid yet.
The pay would be made after the assessment of 13,000 claims from the whole of Guimaras and the amenability of the affected fisher of the cost of pay.
Meanwhile Malou Erni, Petron's operations chief, said that they are coordinating with the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (Tesda), Department of Social Welfare Development (DSWD) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to aid in the villagers livelihood opportunities.
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(November 24, 2006 issue)
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