ILOILO City – All 308 families that were displaced by the recent oil spill have returned home safely, with AC Energy Philippines keeping its promise to do everything it could to mitigate the societal and environmental impacts of the incident in a responsible manner.
The last remaining 41 households were cleared and passed the reintegration parameters, and returned to their respective homes in Barangay Bo. Obrero (Zone 3), Lapuz district on Saturday, July 18.
For around a week, they were temporarily evacuated by AC Energy to several hotels in Mandurriao district together with 267 other families to protect them from the heavy fumes of the bunker fuel that oozed out of Power Barge 102 into the coasts of Iloilo City and Guimaras on July 3 following an explosion.
AC Energy owned the power barge.
The first families to return home safely were a total of 70, in Barangay Mansaya on July 15, followed by the second batch (102 families) in Barangay Bo. Obrero (Zone 2) on July 16.
The third batch of families to return home numbered 95. They were residents of Barangay Bo. Obrero (Zone 3).
The set of parameters for the reintegration of the displaced people was developed by a multi-stakeholder task force composed of various barangays, the city government, Philippine Coast Guard, AC Energy and consultant AECOM Philippines.
One of the parameters was the toxicity level of the affected areas – it must be negligible.
The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 6 disclosed last week that it recorded zero presence of hydrogen sulfide and there was a very safe level of benzene – chemicals that could be found in petroleum oils.
AC Energy’s cleanup contractor Harbor Star Shipping Services, Inc. also helped to ensure the safe return home of the evacuated families.
Throughout the period of displacement, a total of 2,350 food packs were distributed to residents of barangays Loboc, Mansaya and Bo. Obrero. AC Energy collaborated with these villages’ barangay councils for the distribution.
As to AC Energy’s environmental management plan (EMP) for the nearby island province of Guimaras, the company’s Gabby Mejia and AECOM Philippines made a presentation on July 18 during a meeting with representatives of the Guimaras provincial government led by Gov. Samuel Gumarin and Vice Gov. John Edward Gando.
Similar to the action plans and commitments made for Iloilo City, AC Energy together with AECOM also presented its spill assessment update and criteria called Shoreline Clean-up and Assessment Technique (SCAT).
This method, based on international standards, is used to survey and document the impact of spills on shorelines, the effectiveness of cleanup activities, and conduct of post-cleanup inspections and evaluations.
The assessment includes fisheries and mangrove rehab.
Of the 268,948.61 liters of bunker oil spilled as verified by the coastguard, some 95 percent have already been recovered by AC Energy’s cleanup team.
The remaining five percent are floaters which naturally evaporate or either stick to sea walls, or carried away by tidal movements.
Also present during Saturday’s meeting were Cong. Ma. Lucille Nava of the Lone District of Guimaras; Mayor Ruben Corpuz of Jordan, Guimaras; and former congressman JC Rahman Nava. They were assured of the following by AC Energy:
* completion of oil spill cleanup
* that water quality would be restored to safe levels
* continued monitoring of air quality
* proper collection and disposal of oil contaminated materials and wastes
* rehabilitation of affected mangrove and fisheries areas/PN
