Friday, June 08, 2007 P4 M fund to boost Guimaras and Iloilo mangrove rehab
REHABILITATION of oil spill-affected mangrove areas in Guimaras and Iloilo will be given another boost with the turning over of P4 million by Mirant Philippines to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The announcement was made Thursday by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Western Visayas representative during the Solar Oil Spill (SOS) press briefing called for by Presidential Adviser Rafael Coscolluela.
DENR press report said the oil spill from MT Solar I, caused damaged to 687.48 hectares of mangrove areas, 20nhectares of sea grasses, 100 hectares of coral reefs, 994 hectares of fishponds, 107 hectares of seaweeds farms, and 234.84 kilometers of coastline. It also displaced 155,00 people in three coastal towns of Guimaras and two towns of Iloilo.
During the press briefing, PA Coscolluela appealed to the media to help inform the public of the reported fake letter bearing the forged signature of Mr. Joe Nichols of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund or IOPC, informing local officials of Guimaras regarding that the second batch of claimants will be paid in June.
"This is an unfortunate incident which could become a source of embarrassment for the country," Coscolluela said.
He said the IOPC is still evaluating the compensation claims and they will make proper announcement for the release of payments.(T.Villavert/)
