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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Oposa firm: Cebu safe from oil slick
CEBU CITY -- Calls from local officials to remain vigilant as the worst may not yet be over did not stop environmentalist and lawyer Antonio Oposa from asserting that northern Cebu is now safe from the oil slick in Guimaras Island.
Oposa, head of the Visayan Sea Squadron and national environmental team leader of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, said that all the bunker oil in the sunken tanker has already seeped out.
MT Solar 1, which was carrying about two million liters of oil for Petron Corp., sank off Guimaras Island in bad weather last August 11.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared a state of national calamity as the oil spill threatens other provinces in the Visayas and as far as Tubattaha Reef in Sulu Sea.
The Office of the Civil Defense also said that this is no time to be complacent.
Coast Guard officials also announced that it will continue to monitor closely the seas off Bantayan Island despite reports that the oil spill will no longer reach the northern Cebu area.
Oposa said he is coordinating with Lorenzo Tan, head of the World Wildlife Fund Asia.
They have computed the slick and "it seems it already reached 1.8 to two million liters."
His announcement that Bantayan Island is already safe was based on facts, he stressed, as radar satellite showed the direction of the spill.
"Those weren't statements made out of thin air," he said. He sent aerial photos and satellite images to Sun.Star to better illustrate the developments.
"I am a diver and I know that in those depths, the ship would have already imploded and released all its contents," he said.
Oposa also explained that he does not want to be an alarmist but he also wants to inform the Cebuanos that the oil slick is no longer going to affect them.
He announced last week that the spill will reach Bantayan within 10 to 14 days. He quoted an oceanologist who studied the direction of the current at that time and the southwest monsoon.
Bantayan Mayor Geralyn Escario became emotional in a radio interview as she felt that Oposa's new pronouncement dampened the people's enthusiasm to prepare for the worst.
Oposa was not aware that his statements slighted Escario but he said everybody should be thankful that they prepared for a disaster that did not happen.
"It's better that we were ready than be caught off guard," he said in a radio interview.
Oposa also said that the issue united the people of Bantayan Island.
A native of Sta. Fe town, he hopes their unity will not end with the improved situation.
He will speak before the League of Provinces of the Philippines Wednesday in Bacolod City to brief the governors of the situation.
But for Office of Civil Defense Director Angel Gaviola, the current situation "does not promise a zero possibility" that the oil spill will affect Bantayan.
Gaviola explained that typhoons or bad weather and strong current could change the direction of the oil spill.
In yesterday's 888 Media Forum at the Parklane, he said residents should keep the spill booms that they prepared because these could be useful in case a similar disaster occurs.
This is contrary to Oposa's suggestion for the spill booms to be donated to Guimaras.
CG Chief Manolito Malig-on, meanwhile, said they tapped local fishermen in Bantayan Island and the towns of Tabuelan and San Remigio to keep an eye on the oil spill.
"We will continue our close monitoring and we call on the public to produce chicken feathers and human hair for the setting up of an improvised oil spill boom," Malig-on said.
Aside from the fishermen, the CG Auxiliary, a group of civilian volunteers, will also help the regular CG personnel in Bantayan Island.
Reports said the oil sheen, which was earlier spotted off Madridejos town in Bantayan was already heading to Tanguingui Island and Masbate province.
Meanwhile, three cause-oriented groups urged the government to immediately create Save Our Seas coalition, a special body to facilitate the investigation on oil spills and provide experts.
The coalition, once created, should look into the oil exploration of Japan Exploration Corp. at Tañon Strait.
"Our experience in the oil spill (in Guimaras) is enough that the project should be closely monitored by authorities. While we want to clean Guimaras of the oil spill, we should not allow oil exploration firms to destroy our seas," said Vince Cinches, executive director of the Central Visayas Fisherfolk Development Center, in a press conference Tuesday. (MBG/ROV/GC/KNR/EOB/Sun.Star Cebu)
(August 30, 2006 issue)
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