BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO and ADRIAN STEWART CO
ILOILO City – Harsh fumes from the bunker fuel that spilled from a power barge in Barangay Bo. Obrero, Lapuz district here drove 105 families or 378 persons away from their houses, according to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is not discounting the possibility of filing criminal charges against the owner of the barge for Friday last week’s oil spill.
As of 5 p.m. on Saturday, the displaced families huddled at Bo. Obrero Elementary School.
PCG spokesperson Armand Balilo said on Sunday their Legal Affairs Team was set to fly to Iloilo City to assist in the investigation.
An explosion in one of the four tanks of AC Energy’s Power Barge No. 102 triggered an oil spill on July 3 at around 3 p.m.
According to the CDRRMO, the spilled bunker fuel already reached the coastlines of Molo and Arevalo districts and even as far as the coastal town of Dumangas, Iloilo north of this city.
The coastal municipalities of Leganes and Zarraga were on alert, too. Shoreline residents reported traces of bunker fuel in their waters.
“The PCG will file criminal charges against the owner of Power Barge No. 102, if warranted,” Balilo said in a statement sent to Panay News.
An estimated 40,000 liters of bunker fuel spilled out into the waters off Zone 3, Barrio Obrero following the explosion, PCG’s initial investigation showed.
“Immediately, the PCG and Power Barge No. 102 laid several segments of oil spill boom to contain the spilled oil,” according to Balilo. “Oil skimmers were then deployed for the recovery operation.”
Commander Joe Luviz Mercurio of PCG Iloilo station said they already recovered 188 liters of bunker fuel.
Five additional segments of oil spill boom were laid out to protect the mangrove area nearby.
The Bureau of Fire Protection and private oil companies also assisted in terms of manpower and equipment in the containment and recovery operations, PCG added.
In a statement issued on July 4, AC Energy stated it immediately undertook containment procedures after the explosion “but high ocean waves in the afternoon caused some of the oil to spill out of our confinement area.”
“The containment stage was completed last night (July 3) through the use of multilayered spill booms and additional layers from the PCG and Petron,” according to the company.
Skimming operations were also started on July 3 and the following day additional oil skimmer equipment arrived from Shell Philippines, it added.
Another set was scheduled to arrive yesterday.
Right after the explosion and the oil spill that followed, according to AC Energy, an estimated 63 households were displaced due to the fumes. They were evacuated to the barangay elementary school.
According to AC Energy, it formed a team to closely coordinate with the barangay for the needs assessment of the affected people.
“As of this time, we are conducting an investigation of the incident and a reputable third-party firm will be engaged to conduct a thorough investigation as to the root cause of the explosion that ignited the fuel gases inside the sealed tank, in order to avoid similar situations from happening in the future,” read part of the company’s statement.
It added: “We are committed to exerting all means to clean up the oil spill as soon as possible and support the affected communities.”/PN
