DIRTY JOB
Clean up of Antique oil spill to last until April
Iloilo -- Operations are still underway to clear the areas around Semirara island in Antique province of the oil slick caused when an oil tanker developed a leak and spilled thousands of liters of bunker fuel into the sea late last year.
The clean up is ongoing, and it is expected to last until April this year, Environmental Management Bureau regional director Bienvenido Lipayon told The News Today yesterday.
Members of the Philippine Coast Guard are the ones doing the dirty job of 'dispersing' the oil spill with the use of detergents, Lipayon said.
Already, they have gathered about 14,000 sacks of contaminated materials and debris, Lipayon added.
At the present, the clean up is concentrated on the mangrove areas along the 5-kilometer stretch of coastline affected by the oil spill.
"They have just wrapped up cleaning Caybelo Cove, although they are still clearing what little is left (of the oil spill)," Lipayon said.
About 200 people are involved in the clean up presently. But Lipayon expects the number to go up to 400 at its peak.
An estimated 200,000 liters of bunker fuel intended to be delivered for use by the National Power Corporation was spilled last December in Brgy. Semirara, Caluya town, north of Antique.
Lipayon said that the Napocor is the one spending for clean up, while the municipality of Caluya provided the manpower. Because of their expertise, the PCG is the one overseeing the operations.
A team from the EMB was dispatched to the island to assess the damage, but they have yet to submit their findings, Lipayon said.
Reports have it that marine life in the affected areas were already found to have been damaged.
Local folks are worried that their source of livelihood will be affected if the clean up is prolonged. People in the island normally depend in fishing as their source of living.