An expert team from the Japan Disaster Relief helps the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) contain the oil spill from the sunken fuel tanker, MT Princess Empress, off Oriental Mindoro in this photo taken on March 16, 2023. (PCG PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — The government’s response to the Mindoro oil spill was effective, but without drama, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said on Friday.
In a statement, Salceda said the quick response to the oil spill caused by the sinking of MT Princess Empress last February allowed the residents of Oriental Mindoro and other areas to sustain their source of livelihood.
Fishing bans were imposed in different parts of Oriental Mindoro due to the oil spill, which cost affected residents nearly P1 billion.
“The quick and drama-free response, which coordinated government efforts and kept people’s livelihoods afloat in the meantime, shows this government’s commitment to ecology and to tourism, considering that the area is a tourism star and a biodiversity hotspot,” Salceda said.
“The Verde Island Passage is the center of the center of marine biodiversity in the world, so we should not be underestimating the scale of this crisis or the significance of the Marcos administration’s response,” he added.
The Oriental Mindoro provincial government earlier announced that it lifted fishing bans along their shorelines after the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said that waters around the island are within Class SC standards, and no traces of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were found from fish in the area.
The lawmaker, who last March assured the public that a supplemental budget for the oil spill would get the House of Representatives’ approval, said that the Marcos administration’s efforts in responding to the oil spill are “under-the-radar.”
“Like most of the best accomplishments of this administration, it’s under-the-radar and without much fanfare. I congratulate the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, as well as the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard-Southern Tagalog District, Armed Forces of the Philippines Southern Luzon Command, and the Mimaropa local government units for the great work done,” he said.