ILOILO City – Environmental group Greenpeace is pressing the government to make sure the oil spill that struck Barangay Hoskyn in Jordan, Guimaras recently is totally contained, warning of serious threats to public safety, livelihoods, and marine ecosystems.
Authorities have yet to determine the source of the contamination.
The group called for urgent government-led response measures, including expedited investigation, and accountability for those responsible, stressing that delays could worsen the impact on fishing communities heavily dependent on marine resources.
Greenpeace climate campaigner Patrice Valero said, “Affected residents and fisherfolk must be compensated both for immediate and long-term damages to health, livelihood, and biodiversity after those responsible are identified.”
Authorities, he added, must recognize that further delays in containing the spill would inevitably mean taking away food from the Guimarasnons’ table, as their community heavily depends on marine-based livelihoods to survive.
“This is not only a call for the government to protect the environment, but also to safeguard the people who depend on it,” Valero said. “Matuto na sana tayo sa huling major oil spill sa probinsya noong 2006.”
The victims of tanker M/T Solar 1 — chartered by Petron — are still fighting to this day for full compensation due to damages to fishing and livelihood 20 years ago, said Valero.
“Filipinos have grown tired of simply being resilient amid environmental emergencies, especially as they face economic shocks stemming from the current energy crisis,” he lamented.
Similar to destructive oil spills in recent years, such as that of MT Princess Empress and M/T Terra Nova, this latest incident should highlight the vicious pattern of making vulnerable communities pay the price for our fossil fuel dependence, according to Greenpeace.
It’s about time that the country breaks away from dirty energy sources that have only intensified the suffering of the people, especially the poorest of the poor, it added.
“President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and all relevant government agencies must also do what they can to identify those behind the spill, not just the immediate source of the oil but also the fossil fuel company behind it, so they can be held fully accountable under the law. Sila ang dapat na nagbabayad at pinapanagot sa pagkasira ng kalikasan at kahirapang dinaranas ng mga mamamayan, hindi ang karaniwang Pilipino” according to Greenpeace in a statement./PN
