ANTIQUE – No new oil spills have been sighted off the island municipality of Caluya for the past two weeks, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Antique said yesterday.
Lieutenant Senior Grade Rey Anacita, PCG Antique Station commander, said cleanup operations in Liwagao island and in the other affected barangays of Alegria, Semirara, Sibolo, and Tinogboc in Caluya are ongoing but already focused on mangrove areas since no new oil spills have been reported along the shorelines.
“Mangrove areas are being flashed with water from the water pump,” Anacita said.
He said the PCG personnel are being assisted by 464 Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the emergency employment for 30 days that started March 15.
More than 200 cash-for-work employees of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Caluya are also helping in the mangrove cleanup.
Anacita said 3,099 sacks, 119 pails, 111 bags, and 441 drums of contaminated sand and debris have so far been collected due to the oil spill.
He said more than 500 oil spill booms from Camp General Leandro Fullon and the University of Antique main campus in Sibalom town are on standby while DSWD family food packs are being transported to the affected areas.
A tugboat of the Semirara Mining and Power Corporation will be used to transport the 3,800 family food packs from the DSWD Regional Office 6 because the PCG vessel is currently docked at Caticlan Port in Aklan.
M/T Princess Empress was reportedly carrying an estimated 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil when it sank on Feb. 28 while en route to Iloilo province from Bataan after its engine overheated. (PNA)/PN
