By Brian Jules Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has directed concerned government agencies to assess the impact of an oil spill from a sunken tanker off the Bataan coast on Thursday.
In a situation briefing at the Presidential Security Command in Manila, President Marcos ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to lead the assessment.
He also asked the agencies to provide all necessary data which would allow the authorities to address the oil spill and its impact on the environment.
“Basically, what we need to assess is, where was the capsized vessel? The fuel is being released, what are the tides? What are the winds? Where is it headed? Para maunahan na natin. We need some determination of that,” Marcos said.
The President stressed the need for experts to assess the situation in order for the government to prepare immediate relief and mitigation measures.
Transportation Sec. Jaime Bautista also reported to the Chief Executive that 16 of the 17 crew members of the oil tanker have been rescued by the PCG.
“We already coordinated with the private sector, Harbor Star, and [it] will deploy the resources as soon as it will be possible,” Bautista said.
In its incident report, the PCG said that the MT Terra Nova was carrying around 1,494 metric tons of industrial fuel when it capsized some 3.5 nautical miles off Lamao, a coastal barangay in Limay, Bataan early Thursday.
Marine environmental protection personnel have also been deployed to combat the oil spill, according to the PCG. – iro
