This June 19, 2016, photo shows a visitor kayaking in Smith Point, named after an American explorer, in Coron, Palawan. This area is also an excellent snorkelling site. INQUIRER/LYN RILLON
MANILA, Philippines — No traces of oil from a sunken fuel tanker off Oriental Mindoro have been spotted in the waters of Coron town, Palawan province since Tuesday, April 4, a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official said.
According to PCG Deputy Commandant for Operations Vice Admiral Rolando Punzalan Jr., their team in Palawan and local government representatives checked the area following the statement of the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UPMSI) that an April 2 satellite image showed “possible oil slicks near Coron, about 12 kilometers off of the Palawan municipality.”
Subsequently, he said, the contingent found “no sightings of oil in the said vicinity.”
“I have with me the marine pollution surveillance report that you are referring to. And if we will notice despite what is written here, it is subject to confirmation,” Punzalan said Wednesday during an interview with ANC when asked about the UPMSI report.
“So late yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, our troops in Palawan made sorties; they were actually accompanied by staff from the provincial disaster risk and reduction management office and representatives from the local government units,” he narrated, noting that the group of PCG and local government personnel used speed boats, rigid high inflatable boats, and other floating assets to inspect the area.
“They reported not only yesterday (Tuesday) but including this (Wednesday) morning that there are no sightings of oil in the said vicinity,” he also said.
On February 28, MT Princess Empress submerged off Naujan municipality after having engine trouble due to rough sea condition. In a few days, the resultant oil spill affected neighboring towns and eventually, as far as Verde Island in Batangas province, and Taytay, Palawan.
READ: PCG: Sunken oil tanker in Oriental Mindoro now half-empty
Various agencies and environment groups have been conducting cleanup operations since.
READ: Oriental Mindoro oil spill affects nearly 173,000 people – NDRRMC