ILOILO City – Guimaras Gov. Samuel Gumarin inspected five barangays in Buenavista town to assess damages caused by the oil spill following an explosion at a power barge stationed here.
He personally visited the villages of Navalas, Bacjao, San Miguel, Getulio, and East Valencia on July 8, according to a press report of the Information Section of the Office of the Governor.
Since the explosion in the power barge of the AC Energy Philippines of the Ayala Corporation in this city on July 3, the number of affected villages in Guimaras has increased to 27, data from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office as of July 8 showed.
Seventeen of these barangays are from the municipality of Buenavista, eight from Jordan and two from San Lorenzo.
The governor said their top priority is to prevent the bunker oil from spreading further on the shorelines of the province as the oil spill has already greatly affected residents in the said coastal barangays.
Gumarin appealed to concerned government agencies to assist the province in assessing the damages brought about by the incident.
“We are asking for help not only from the Ayala Corporation but also from branches and departments of the agencies of the government to assist the province of Guimaras in making sure that our assessment is true and could compensate the economic losses of our barangays and municipalities,” he said.
According to Gumarin, the provincial government is looking for ways to assist fisherfolks and families affected by the oil spill.
“The province and the municipality are looking how they could help our affected fisherfolks as well as families in the barangays,” he said.(With a report from PIA/PN)
