OCD chief says better response measures vs sea disasters needed

FILE PHOTO: A crew of the Philippine Coast Guard collects water samples from an oil spill in the waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. On Saturday, March 2, 2024, the Office of Civil Defense said better response measures must be instituted against marine environmental disasters. (OCD)PHOTO COURTESY OF PCG

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Saturday that better response measures must be instituted against marine environmental disasters.

“It has been a year since the oil spill incident happened in Mindoro. Though it took us time, still we were able to surmount all the challenges that we encountered because of inter-agency and multisector action,” OCD Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said in a statement

“[A]nd though we hope that it will not happen again, the incident calls on us to strengthen our preparedness and response so that we can minimize the negative impacts of such incident,” he added.

READ: Only 627 of 4,000 fishers compensated for Mindoro oil spill

Nepomuceno’s assertions came a year after the oil spill incident in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

On Feb. 28, 2023, oil tanker MT Princess Empress, which sailed from Bataan to Iloilo, sank off Naujan and eventually leaked oil that reached the provinces of Antique, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, and Palawan.

“We are pleased that it is done now, however, we cannot set aside the huge cost of damage, the environmental and health impacts that the incident caused. By acknowledging these, better preparedness and response are needed both from the government side and the companies,” the OCD chief said.

READ: Mindoro oil spill ruins nearly P1 billion in livelihood sources

According to a report from think tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, losses from the oil spill reached around P40.1 billion in environmental damage and P1.1 billion in the socioeconomic aspect.

Nepomuceno also said that the OCD has learned many lessons, especially on preparedness, from the oil spill.

“Ginawa lang po namin ang aming katungkulan at obligasyon. Marami kaming natutunan sa [insidente ng] oil spill at isa d’yan at pinakamahalaga ay ang pagtugon at paghahanda sa anumang kalamidad,” he said.

(We just did our obligations. We learned many lessons from the oil spill incident and among them, which is the most important, is the response and preparedness for any calamity.)