An expert team from the Japan Disaster Relief helps the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in containing the oil spill from the sunken fuel tanker, MT Princess Empress, off the waters of Oriental Mindoro in this photo taken on March 16, 2023. (Photo from the Philippine Coast Guard)
MANILA, Philippines — A total of 19,895 people affected by the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro have been hired to assist in its cleanup, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Monday.
The total figure, which includes Antique residents who are also affected by the oil, are beneficiaries of the cash-for-work program to provide temporary employment. Most of them are fisherfolk.
“The affected residents … were deployed to participate in various activities such as collecting locally available materials for making improvised oil spill boom and absorbent; establishing barangay or backyard gardens; mangrove rehabilitation; and conducting community clean-up drives. Some beneficiaries also assisted in the loading and unloading of family food packs,” the DSWD said in a statement.
Each program participant received an amount equivalent to their daily regional minimum wage.
The beneficiaries from Oriental Mindoro received their wages for the first five days of work amounting to P355 daily, while those from Antique were provided with their pay for the first 10 working days amounting to P450 per day.
More than P3.1 million has been disbursed to cover the first batch of the implementation of the program in the municipalities of Bulalacao and Pola in Oriental Mindoro and Caluya in Antique.
The oil spill came from the wreckage of the MT Princess Empress which sank on Feb. 28 in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro after having engine trouble due to rough seas. It was carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil.
The oil spill spread to as far as Verde Island in Batangas and Taytay town in Palawan.