DA-BFAR provides P117-M aid to oil spill-hit areas
THE Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) will provide over P117.864 million in emergency and relief assistance to areas affected by the oil spill from the tanker that sank off Oriental Mindoro in February.
The bureau said that P12 million in fuel assistance was given to affected fisherfolk in Region 4B (Mimaropa).
Also, P4.4 million was allotted for post-harvest training of various fisherfolk associations and cooperatives, and over P1.5 million was utilized for food assistance to more than 5,000 fisherfolk in the region.
“Supplementary interventions are in the pipeline, including the grant of additional FRP (fiberglass-reinforced plastic ) boats, fish aggregating devices, aquaculture feed mill projects, bangus fry, tilapia fingerlings, and fish cages to areas affected by the oil spill,” the BFAR said in its statement.
In addition, BFAR has also deployed monitoring, control, and surveillance vessels, as well as PPE sets and other materials for cleanup activities.
The latest monitoring of the DA-BFAR in affected fishing areas
showed that the fishing waters of Calapan, Bansud and Gloria are safe.Likewise, the bureau’s analyses also showed that the fishing waters off Bongabong, Bulalacao, Mansalay, Roxas, Baco, Puerto Galera and San Teodoro remained safe.
However, the DA-BFAR recommended to keep the fishing ban in Pola, Pinamalayan and Naujan.
Mayor Jennifer “Ina Alegre” Cruz of Pola, Oriental Mindoro said the oil spill caused an estimated loss of P300 million in the livelihood of fisherfolk. She placed the damage to mangroves and shorelines at P134 million.Damage to the environment caused by the oil spill may reach P7 billion, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said.
No complaint filed
The affected residents of Mindoro, meanwhile, asked the government to file a formal complaint against the owner and operator of the tanker.
This developed as the Hanay ng Yumayabong na Mangingisda (Hayuma) and the Serve the People Corps-Southern Tagalog (STPC) held a dialogue with Calapan City’s Sangguniang Panglungsod (City Council) on Tuesday, May 30.
In a letter addressed to the vice mayor and the city council’s presiding officer Bim Ignacio and read during the session, members of Hayuma said that while they appreciate the aid that they are receiving from the different government agencies, they wanted a clear presentation on where the calamity funds allotted for them went and why there is no formal complaint yet filed against the entities behind the oil spill.
“We are thankful to the aids that we have been receiving although we all know that these are not enough for our needs. We want a detailed accounting of the calamity funds from the city and provincial governments. What puzzles us also is why there is no complaint yet filed by the local government units against the owner of the oil tanker and who chartered them,” the fishermen said in their letter, a copy of which was furnished to The Manila Times.
The STPC, in a separate statement, said that the P355 per day cash-for-work program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Labor and Employment is not enough for the needs of the affected fishermen.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) announced the arrival on Monday of the DSV Fire Opal that would conduct the siphoning of the remaining oil from the sunken MT Princess Empress.
PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said an estimated 120,000 to 240,000 liters of oil remains inside the tanker out of the 800,000 liters it carried when it sank. Balilo added that it would take 20 to 30 days before all the oil can be siphoned off depending on the weather condition and subsea progress.