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Saturday, August 26, 2006
Hair, feathers, sawdust can stop feared oil slick
CEBU CITY -- The oil that reached Bantayan Island is "very manageable" and could already be "very diluted," the Office of the Civil Defense told a provincial disaster council meeting at the Cebu Capitol Friday.
But local officials and environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa are still preparing for the worse.
Oposa is rallying volunteer groups and small boat owners to Bantayan Island in northern Cebu to form a barricade of boom-laying craft and prevent the Guimaras oil spill from entering the Visayan Sea, one of the country's richest fishing grounds.
"I want the line to stretch between Silay (Negros Occidental) and any adjacent municipality in Iloilo," he told Sun.Star in an interview Friday.
Negros Occidental and Iloilo face each other near the Panay Gulf. The MT Solar I tanker, chartered by Petron Corp. to haul two million liters of bunker fuel to Zamboanga, sank off Guimaras last August 11.
Some 200,000 liters of oil has leaked into the sea, damaging more than 200 kilometers of coastline, hundreds of hectares of mangrove swamp and a marine reserve, spreading to the neighboring province of Iloilo and threatening Negros Occidental.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, having heard that human hair and chicken feathers can be used to help arrest the oil flow, instructed that drop off centers be set up in across the country and to "ensure speedy transport to the affected area."
Oposa and his group of volunteers will be armed with another indigenous fix.
They will carry "indigenous oil booms" developed by people at the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute, which oversees a marine sanctuary in Iloilo.
The booms, Oposa explained, are made of bamboo poles spliced together with rope. Hemp sacks containing dayami (dried rice stalks or rice straw) are then tied unto the poles. The dried stalks have an absorbent property that traps the oil.
They are trying to get gloves and other protective gears for those who will take part.
Petron, Oposa said, is also being asked to help provide fuel for the vessels and planes.
"We can stop it," Oposa said, "so long as that thing (the tanker) does not implode (underwater pressure can crush a weak hull) and release the contents. If that happens, manguros na lang ta."
The Cebu-based Coast Guard will send a separate Marine Environmental Protection Unit team to check the oil sheen off Bantayan Island.
The Cebu Provincial Board authorized Governor Gwendolyn Garcia Friday to access the Capitol's calamity funds for the preparations needed to protect Cebu's shores, specifically Bantayan Island.
Madridejos Councilor Emy Matis, in the disaster council meeting, said what the fishermen saw so far were scattered thin oil films.
These were visible only during strong winds.
Board Member Jose Ma. Gastardo, however, stressed the need to prepare for what could cause a more immediate death to the Visayan Sea than overfishing.
A non-government organization also said that the best way to prevent a disaster here in Cebu is to help Guimaras.
Maretes Godinez-Alenton of the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation Inc. told officials from various government agencies gathered yesterday that her group has identified Fuente Osmeña as drop off point for any donation that could help clean up Guimaras.
Aside from empty drums to contain the recovered oil, gloves, masks and boots for those who will volunteer for the clean-up are also needed.
Godinez-Alenton said they also accept medicines, food and used clothing for Guimaras.
The Provincial Government is also giving the coastal conservation group a space at the Capitol building where they can accept donations.
Marit Remonde, who attended Friday's meeting in behalf of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, said they will hold a "radiothon" not only to urge the Cebuanos to help, but also for information campaign.
Local disaster coordinating councils of all three municipalities in Bantayan island will be activated.
Fishermen's groups will also be tapped for whatever action needed on the seas.
Sta Fe. Vice Mayor Celso Espinosa said they are willing to help in every way they can just so their island would not suffer from the effects of oil spill.
The first line of defense identified yesterday was only for Bantayan to prepare spill booms. But as to how many, and where and when exactly these will be placed, even officials were still unsure.
Gastardo said they will also get in touch with poultry raisers in Bantayan, considered Cebu's egg basket, for chicken feathers, which is an oil absorbent material.
Cathay Pacific also wrote the Cebu Provincial Government to say that the airline is willing to sponsor any cargo for anything that may be needed for Guimaras. The company also pledged tickets to transport international professionals to help.
The Cebu City Council last Wednesday asked the Philippine Coast Guard to strictly monitor fuel tankers' compliance to international standards.
It also urged other local government units and the National Disaster Coordinating Council to formulate a disaster preparedness program and come up with a unified response against oil spills. (JPM/KNR/GC/RHM)
(August 26, 2006 issue)
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It's a national calamity: Arroyo on oil spill