JORDAN, Guimaras -The massive oil spill off the coast of the island-province of Guimaras has spread to three towns, prompting the provincial government to declare a state of calamity.

Guimaras Gov. JC Rahman Nava said the oil spill has contaminated the coastline of 14 barangays --11 in Nueva Valencia town and three in Sibunag town -- as of noon yesterday. The oil slick was also spotted nearing the mouth of the Lawi Cove in the capital town of Jordan, north of Nueva Valencia.

The Coast Guard has brought in tugboats and skimmers to help contain the spread of the spill, said Capt. Luis Tuason Jr., Coast Guard commander of Western Visayas.

Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., owner of the M/T Solar I which sank 15 nautical miles southwest of Guimaras Island late Friday afternoon, has also contracted private tugboats and other equipment in the containment and cleanup operations.

Tuason said an estimated 100,000 liters have been spilled by the oil tanker since it sank. The 998-gross-ton tanker was carrying 13,000 barrels or 2 million liters of bunker fuel owned by the oil company Petron worth P40 million. It was intended to be delivered to the Western Mindanao Power Corp. in Zamboanga del Sur. Four teams are working round the clock to block off the spill along the Iloilo strait, northwest of the site of the spill, and northeast, along the Guimaras Strait.

Tuason said they will have difficulty assessing the actual damage and determine if the seepage of oil from the sunken boat is continuing because of the depth of the waters where the boat sank (603 meters).

The owner of the tanker has contacted two foreign salvage companies to survey the situation and assess the possibility of salvaging the tanker.

Tuason said the possibility that the spill would reach the world-famous Boracay Island was "remote" because of the distance of the island-resort of the site of the spill and direction of water current. Nava said the spill has affected 3,000 families or around 10,000 persons. At least 1,180 fisherfolks in Nueva Valencia town alone have been deprived of livelihood.

Four households in Sitio Dungkaan in Barangay Lucmayan in Nueva Valencia have been identified for relocation and officials are assessing the possibility of evacuating more families. It has also affected 15.8 sq m of coral reefs, 105 hectares of mangroves, 42 ha of seaweeds and around 102 km of coast line.

Nestor Yonque, station head of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV) Marine Biological Station in Taklong Island in Nueva Valencia, said the around 50 percent of 46-hectare mangrove forest within the Taklong National Marine Reserve are already contaminated.

Nava, a physician, said they are also preparing for cases of skin and pulmonary diseases like asthma triggered by of the oil fumes.

He said the province needs help to prevent more damage to its resources and livelihood. "Years of investment in tourism and protection of resources are gone in just an instant and we don't know when this will be over," said Nava.

President Macapagal-Arroyo has assured Guimaras officials of the support of national government in the containment and cleanup of the oil spill, the governor said.

The UPV has created a special committee to conduct an assessment on the impact and extent of damage the spill similar to the one the university conducted in Semirara, Antique.

Dr. Rex Sadaba, the head of the research committee, said their studies will first concentrate on Taklong Island where 23 of 35 species of mangroves in the Philippines are present.*NPB

back to top