Water quality in Guimaras oil-spilled areas improving—Coscolluela
"The findings on water quality indicate that there is a continuing rapid improvement and we are hoping that very shortly, we will be able to declare specific areas as already clean in the oil spill-affected places in the province of Guimaras", said Task Force Solar Oil Spill (SOS) On -Site Incident Commander Secretary Rafael Coscolluela.
During the recent Task Force SOS press briefing, Coscolluela further said that he requested the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to conduct a special assessment on the viability of the seaweed project in the province and find out if the water in those areas is already capable of supporting seaweed farms. "Then we request the BFAR to start its seaweed rehabilitation program", Coscolluela added.
In the status report of the Task Force SOS the seaweed farms are included among the identified affected ecosystems of the province by the Solar I oil spill. Others listed are the mangrove, coral reefs, fishponds and marine reserves of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The report further showed that around 107 has. of the seaweed farms in Guimaras are affected, of which 47 has. are located in the municipality of Nueva Valencia, 40 has. in Sibunag and 20 has. in San Lorenzo.
On the other hand, Coscolluela said the Department of Health and the DENR will come out soon with a joint statement on which standard to use to measure air quality based on what they have agreed upon during the recent National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) meeting.
The government will ensure that measures undertaken to rehabilitate the province of Guimaras are both environment - friendly and economically sustainable. (PIA)