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Friday, August 25, 2006
Oil sheen sighted off northern Cebu town
By Garry Cabotaje
With Minerva B. Gerodias
CEBU CITY -- The surface waters off Madridejos town in Bantayan Island in northern Cebu turned oily Thursday, raising fears that the massive oil spill in Guimaras has already reached and contaminated the Visayan seas.
Both Madridejos Mayor Lety Mancio and environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa confirmed an oil sheen that turned the seawaters off Madridejos into greasy-like liquid that glints in sunlight.
Mancio said the oily surface waters could even be spotted just 300 meters away from the shoreline of Barangay Poblacion.
Local fishermen also found bits and pieces of hardened black materials, which Mancio described as similar to dried asphalt, in a fish sanctuary known as Kapayas shoal, some three or four kilometers from the town's shoreline.
"Manguros na lang ta ani (We will just make the sign of the cross)," was Oposa's reaction upon learning from Mancio about the presence of oil sheen in Madridejos.
Oposa, head of the Visayan Sea Squadron and Integrated Bar of the Philippines national environmental team leader, earlier warned authorities that the oil spill in Guimaras Island will reach the Visayan Sea triangle, the major fishing ground for commercial vessels in the Visayas area.
Oil tanker Solar I sank off Guimaras Island last August 11, discharging more than 50,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the seas. Petron Corp. had ordered the bunker fuel.
Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz asked Petron to adopt measures to prevent the oil spill from spreading to the nearby Visayan Sea and Bantayan Island and other threatened areas.
He said he has directed the Philippine Coast Guard to help contain the oil spill.
"Petron has reiterated that it will expend all the efforts and funds to speed up the clean-up and to protect the threatened shorelines in the area and Task Force Guimaras is calling on Petron to continue to speed up the clean-up operations," said Cruz, also head of the National Disaster Coordinating Council.
To prevent the oil spill from spreading further to northern Cebu, Oposa said they will mobilize fishing boat owners and fishermen to block the Apitong pass, a narrow strait that divides Negros Island and Iloilo.
Negros island stands between Guimaras and Cebu.
"We will hold people power at sea. We have to mobilize the local fishermen to help us in this effort," Oposa told Sun.Star Cebu.
As of Thursday, both Mancio and Bantayan Mayor Geralyn Escario were preparing to hold off the oil slick.
In the past days, they have been making improvised booms that will be spread in the sea to block the oil from coming into the municipal waters.
The booms are made up of bamboo poles, used clothes and corn stalks.
Mancio said they wanted to start bringing the improvised booms to the sea Thursday but the weather was bad and waves were huge because of the southwest monsoon. They hope to do it Friday.
"We are preparing with the hope that it won't happen," Escario said.
On Friday, the Provincial Disaster and Coordinating Council will have an emergency meeting.
Oposa said Negros Occidental Governor Joseph Marañon already confirmed of the participation of several fishermen to set up a chain of boats on the Apitong pass.
He considered the blocking of Apitong pass as crucial as the oil spill will eventually spread to the Visayan Sea once it gets out from this narrow strait.
Oposa, who was still in Manila Thursday, expressed hope that they can finally set this people power at sea in less than two days.
At 2 p.m. Friday, the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council 7, chaired by Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Chief Silverio Alarcio, will convene in office of Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr. at the Provincial Capitol.
Officials from the Cebu Coast Guard, Office of the Civil Defense, Department of Health Department of Interior and Local Government and Department of Environment and Natural Resources are expected to attend the meeting. (Sun.Star Cebu)
(August 25, 2006 issue)
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