IOPCF junks 125,480 second batch claimants
International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPFF) has initially approved 134 applications, out of the 125,614 second batch claimants, for compensation due to the oil spill which occurred August 11 last year in the waters off the island-province of Guimaras.
This was revealed by Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas Rafael Coscolluela in an interview last week. Coscolluela, however, said the 134 applications would still pass the final screening of IOPCF.
Coscolluela, chair of the Task Force SOS, said the remaining 125,480 claims were disapproved by the Fund for lack of substantial proof that the applicants were directly affected by the oil spill.
The release of the compensation fund among the oil spill victims in the province of Guimaras was met with controversy after it was found out that some of the relatives of former Congressman Edgar Espinosa were listed as recipients even if they are not qualified.
Coscolluela said practically all the applicants managed to get the endorsement of either the congressman or the governor.
Coscolluela observed that more people filed the claims in the second batch after learning that their neighbors received from as low as P2,000 to as high as P30,000 in compensaton.
Task Force reported that IOPCF has paid out around P177 million in settlement of claims to over 22,000 affected fisherfolks in Guimaras.
The report was attested by retired Gen. Glen Rabonza of the National Disaster Coordinating Council and Marilou Ernie of Petron.
Task Force SOS, in a reported last June 2007, declared that "(i)n less than a year, life in Guimaras has been restored."
In the same report, the task force said the government is pursuing programs to strengthen oil-spill response capability, by working on an updated and comprehensive National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, upgrading the Philippine Coast Guard and Maritime Police equipment as well as the NDCC Operations Center, and capacity-building through localized emergency response preparedness training.
Further, the task force said the scientific community, led by UP Visayas, has also been working in concert to develop a science-based approach to oil-spill impact assessment and environmental rehabilitation. Their work will contribute valuable inputs for current and future responses.
The operations to recover oil from Solar 1 were completed without spilling any recovered oil on either land or sea. Likewise, all recovered oily debris were shipped out for reprocessing/reuse outside of Guimaras.