Marcos hopes cleanup of Mindoro oil spill will not take more than 4 months

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said he hopes the clean-up initiatives for the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro will not take more than four months.

He vowed the government will expedite the cleanup, adding that the volume of oil spilled in the waters of Mindoro was less than compared to the 2006 oil spill in Guimaras, of which the cleanup took four months.

“Hopefully kung hindi kaya ng one month [ang cleanup] hopefully less [than four months], kasi ang Guimaras na oil spill apat na buwan bago na clean up,” he said in a chance interview in Quezon City.

(Hopefully we can finish the cleanup in less than four months because the oil spill in Guimaras took four months.)

“Siguro naman this time, kasi mas bawas ng konti ang oil spill ay mas mabibilisan natin, kahit na hindi sa isang buwan, hindi naman siguro natin paabutin ng apat na buwan,” Marcos added.

(Maybe this time, since the oil spill is lesser than that of Guimaras, maybe we can clean up the spill in less than four months, if not possible in a month.)

Marcos said he has instructed the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Social Welfare and Development to aid affected fisherfolk with a “cash-for-work” program to help them cope with the effects of the oil spill.

“’Yung mga mangingisda hindi makapangisda ngayon, bawal mangisda kaya’t wala silang hanapbuhay, pinalitan natin ng cash-for-work program dahil sila ngayon ang maglilinis at binabantayan namin ng husto lahat,” he said.

(Fishermen currently have no livelihood because of the spill so we have a cash-for-work program for them since they will help in the clean up.)

The President said the government is monitoring closely the situation, particularly the effect on fishing sanctuaries and tourist areas, if the oil spill will reach them.

He said private corporations and even the Japan government have offered help and equipment to help with the cleanup.

A spillage of diesel fuel ensued after the MT Princess Empress, which was carrying 800,000 liters of oil sank in Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 28.

Marcos earlier said his administration is ready to give assistance to families and individuals affected by the oil spill.

JPV