P130M fund for Guimaras rehab ready for release
The P130 million fund for the rehabilitation of the oil spill affected areas in Guimaras province is already available.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Executive Director Julian D. Amador said Environment Secretary Angelo T. Reyes has instructed them to immediately send a Work and Financial Plan to the Department of Budget and Management for the said amount so that cash allocations can be made immediately. The funds will be for the different rehabilitation activities that will restore the environment of Guimaras and affected municipalities in Iloilo.
It may be recalled that the fund was promised by President Arroyo to the Task Force SOS when she visited Guimaras days after the oil spill incident.
The rehabilitation of the area covers the Air and Water Quality Monitoring in various sampling sites that will cover not only the province of Guimaras but also the affected areas in the Province of Iloilo.
This will also include the upgrading of laboratory facilities to cope with the demands of air and water analysis. Amador said the present laboratory facilities can only make analysis of the basic sampling sites already established by the Environmental Management Bureau and an additional number of samples for analysis render it inefficient.
Another major rehabilitation activity is the rehabilitation and restoration of the coastal resources. This will include the survey and mapping of the total mangrove areas in the ground to determine its metes and bounds so that a demarcation can now be established. This will also include researches on the impact of the oil spill and other oil spill related studies to be coordinated with the local government and other national government agencies like BFAR, DOH, and DOST.
Amador also declared that there would be livelihood projects to be introduced by the DENR in the area that will complement the restoration activities.
(rac/rpao)