Guimaras fisherfolks get P2.4M livelihood grant
Fishermen in Guimaras whose livelihood were severely affected by the massive oil spill in 2006 have received a livelihood grant of US$50,000 (around P2.4 million) to help recover from the lingering effects of the disaster.
The check was recently turned-over by the Citi Philippines Country Director Sanjiv Vohra to Petron President Eric Recto in a ceremony at the Petron office in Manila last March 24.
Citi Foundation and Petron Foundation have partnered to finance the second phase of a mariculture livelihood program for residents of Nueva Valencia town in Guimaras.
Nueva Valencia was the worst hit among the island's five municipalities by the August 11, 2006 oil spill which was triggered by the sinking of the the M/T Solar I southeast of the island.
The cargo ship, chartered by Petron Corp., sank and spilled more than 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel oil it was transporting from Bataan to Zamboanga.
Thousands of residents, mostly fishermen, were displaced and dislocated after they were forced to stop fishing.
“Sustaining this mariculture farm in Guimaras in partnership with Citi Philippines underscores our desire to provide a viable, long-term livelihood assistance that will directly benefit fisherfolk in the province. This will provide a more reliable source of income for them while preserving the environment,” Recto said in a press statement.
The corporate foundations under the Ligtas Guimaras program along with the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (Seafdec-AQD) launched the the pilot phase of the mariculture farm at the Seafdec station in Nueva Valencia in July 2007.
The pilot phase benefited 30 fisherfolks from Nueva Valencia who completed a training in milkfish cage culture and the cultivation of some 72,000 milkfish (bangus). At the end of the pilot program, the residents were able to harvest over 26,000 kilograms of bangus, translating into gross sales of nearly P2.5 million, according to the press statement.
The second phase of the program aims to replicate the milkfish cage culture in four other barangays in Nueva Valencia and increase the number of beneficiaries of the livelihood program.
During the ceremony, Recto also presented a certificate to the Department of Education in Guimaras for the completion of trainings in computer technology.
Petron is providing Internet connection to all of the province’s 17 public high schools. The firm along with its corporate partners also provided personal computers units to each school, tower relays and repeaters, and training in computer technology.
“The internet connectivity project is part of our efforts to give the gift of education to the children of Guimaras. Through this, we hope to help increase their digital literacy and information technology skills,” Recto said.
The company which was besieged by criticisms at the height of the disaster more than two years ago earlier had earlier also funded the construction of an elementary school building in Barangay Tando in Nueva Valencia and the library hub in the capital town of Jordan.