Scientific community pushes for Guimaras rehab funds immediate release
A representative from the scientific community has urged the immediate release of the P863 million Guimaras rehabilitation fund "to facilitate eventual monitoring of all important aspects, particularly water quality."
Dr. Lemnuel Aragones, associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology, College of Sciences at the University of Philippines-Diliman, admitted its "failure in monitoring" due to lack of funds.
"The real score is that the money was not released to pursue the actual monitoring immediately right after the [oil spill] impact," Aragones said in an interview during the workshop at the Guimaras Provincial Capitol. "Until we come up with a real plan on how to disburse the funding ...the government could never release...the reason why we have to do this, even with bad weather."
He disclosed that the latest monitoring conducted by the University of the Philippines was in November.
Aragones said that there is a need to conduct monitoring for fish catch, mangroves growth and recovery, and sea grass and coral reefs recovery.
"We shall be looking on the blood samples of the residents to determine the impact of the oil spill to the physical condition of the inhabitants, especially the long-term effects," he said.
Aragones said that after monitoring "they will come up with scientific advice to the local government units concerned and provide options on how to proceed given the data at hand."
"Guimaras is a small island ecosystem... it has a sensitive and delicate components of the ecosystem," he added. "All the line agencies and the provincial government must have a one comprehensive rehabilitation plan to facilitate the release of funds because they only have until December or else the funds will revert back to the national treasury."
Representatives from the Departments of Health, Environment and Natural Resources, Social Welfare and Development, Agriculture, and Office of Civil Defense, Philippine Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources gathered at the capitol for a workshop to come up with a consolidated oil spill rehabilitation initiatives of the island province.
The workshop was initiated by Gov. Felipe Hilan-Nava in his aim to prompt the rehabilitation of the island province on the effects of the oil spill.
(PNA)