BY ADRIAN STEWART CO AND IME SORNITO
MANILA – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will fine AC Energy Corp. for the July 3 oil spill in the waters off Barangay Bo. Obrero in Iloilo City’s Lapuz district.
Environment undersecretary Benny Antiporda said the department will issue a notice to the company for violation of Republic Act 9275, the Clean Water Act.
A technical conference would also be called to discuss the cleanup.
An explosion in one of the four tanks of AC Energy’s Power Barge No. 102 triggered the oil spill.
“It is the responsibility of AC Energy to conduct the cleanup operation,” Antiporda said.
The DENR official also said the company has tapped Harbor Star Shipping Services for the cleanup of affected areas.
It will begin with the inlet areas, followed by the coast, and then any offshore areas to recover and safely disperse any remaining oil residue. Cleanup is estimated to last up to 15 days.
“The cleanup must follow the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan and supervised by the Philippine Coast Guard,” Antiporda said.
The Regional Incident Management Team was created to monitor all aspects of the cleanup – affected communities, health and environmental impacts and waste management.
Antiporda also said his office is recommending the cleanup of heavy bunker fuel in mangrove areas to allow wave action and disperse the oil and collect them from the sea.
Sorbents and manual cleanup are also recommended but under strict monitoring to ensure that mangroves in the area will not be disturbed.
THOROUGH PROBE
In a press conference on Monday, AC Energy – the power arm of Ayala Corp. – said it was tapping third-party experts to assist in its investigation into the oil spill.
“This third party consultant is independent and not our employees. They were with me in the flight to Iloilo to do the investigation,” said Ramon Gabino Mejia, head of operations at AC Energy.
Mejia said the investigation would take about three to four days to determine the root cause of the explosion that ignited the fuel gases inside a sealed tank.
But initial findings revealed that the discharge is attributable to ignition of fuel oil in storage which ruptured the barge’s fuel tank, he added.
Mejia said the company will issue an official report once the third party experts – two marine engineers from Metro Manila – submit their assessments.
“When the incident happened last Friday, the power barge was not operating. As a matter of fact, people were doing maintenance work. What maintenance work? We will know as soon as possible,” said Mejia, adding the power barge was last activated on June 23 or June 24.
“No right person in his right mind will want this to happen but I guess we’re beyond that already, so what we’re going to do is get complete the facts,” Mejia said.
Five marine biologists and experts from the University of the Philippines Visayas will also help detect the oil spill trajectory to speed up the containment stage, he added.
“We will do our best. We are committed 101 percent to clean up everything,” said Mejia.
COMMUNITY BAYANIHAN CLEANUP
To hasten the cleanup of remaining residues of oil sheen from the spill, Mejia said AC Energy will partner with residents of barangays Loboc, Bo. Obrero and Mansaya in Iloilo City, adjacent Leganes town in Iloilo province and other barangays in Guimaras.
“We are engaging the community to do the cleanup. We are actually providing them PPEs (personal protective equipment) and compensating them for that,” Mejia added.
As of 5 p.m. on Saturday, at least 105 families or 378 persons displaced by the oil spill in Barangay Bo. Obrero were forced to leave their houses, according to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
These families were evacuated to Bo. Obrero Elementary School.
According to AC Energy, it formed a team to closely coordinate with the barangay for the needs assessment of the affected people./PN
