Petron trying to smoke screen cleanup operations?
Certain residents of Barangay Tando, Guimaras claimed that Petron Corporation seemingly tries to conceal the real situation in their area and at the same time declare that it has already been cleaned up.
A male cleanup worker disclosed that they were ordered to cover with cement the lower portion of coconut trees lined beneath the shoreline. The worker said the order came from Petron personnel supervising the cleanup operation in their area.
Another woman worker said they have no idea why Petron asked them to cover the portions where traces of bunker fuel are clearly seen. She even showed the patches of oil sludge buried on the sand. There are other trees lined along the shoreline which are left untouched. Some of the residents even cut portions of the trees heavily covered with bunker fuel oil.
Both workers requested anonymity for fear of expulsion from the group of cleanup workers under Petron's cash for work program. Recently, Department of Health ordered the stoppage of the cleanup operations in the different barangays after high level of hydrogen sulfide was traced in the air.
Sources confided that Petron is doing the same dubious act not only in Barangay Tando but also in other affected barangays in Nueva Valencia. The oil sludge washed ashore is intentionally hidden on the sand, they said.
The same sources said the government agencies should not close their eyes on what Petron Corp. is doing and stop them of their practices as it can cause more danger to the residents and environment.
On the other hand, Carlos Tan, Petron's Health and Safety Manager denied the allegations of the cleanup workers. Tan said they never issued such order to cover the affected areas with cement and bury the sludge on the ground.
Tan said there is nothing to hide. It was never a part of the company's instruction "relative to our clean up operations."
"I cannot deny there are areas we find hard to clean and we include it in our report," said Tan.
Tan added, "there are members of the Philippine Coast Guard and foreign experts who monitor our clean up operations." He said it is impossible for the company to issue such order. The oil sludge on the ground is lightly scraped to make sure all the debris are collected, said Tan.
In a phone interview, Tan wanted to know the identities of the residents who claimed such allegations. He said they have fielded team leaders to handle the oil spill workers. Each group has its own team leader.
Tan also challenged the workers to identify their team leader who ordered them to cover the affected areas. Once they have identified the team leader, they would know if indeed the order came from Petron, he said.
Petron will not hesitate to give sanctions to any of its staff who ordered the "cover-up operations" in Brgy. Tando. However, if they could not pinpoint who exactly made the order, then it was just meant to ruin Petron, said Tan.