Cavite Governor Juanito Victor Remulla. BANDERA FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Ninety nine-percent of the leaked diesel in the recent oil spill had already evaporated, Cavite Governor Juanito Remulla claimed on Wednesday.
In a visit to the spill site, the Cavite governor told Radyo Inquirer 990 AM that both the local governments and Petron had conducted bioremediation to remove contaminants along the shoreline.
Remulla said the oil firm had put a bio-degreaser off the Cavite shoreline to clean up the grime and bacteria brought by the remaining diesel left in the waters.
He said Cavite authorities were still looking into the cause of the pipe ruptures, which could possibly be due to negligence, corrosion or sabotage.
He also lauded Petron Corp., which runs an oil depot in Rosario town, for responding quickly to the massive oil spill. According to Remulla, Petron has been exerting efforts to provide assistance to the fisherfolk.
An estimated 4,000 families are affected, with 600 heavily affected, by the diesel spill, which contaminated the shorelines of four Cavite Rosario, Naic, Tanza and Ternate towns.
“All of the families and affected people are identified. We will turn over their names to Petron,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Rosario Mayor Jose Ricafrente filed a cease-and-desist order against the oil giant, which would be effective until the oil spill is contained.
“I think we have to be satisfied with their repair and rehabilitation efforts before we give them the green light to continue their operations in Cavite,” he said.
Aside from the technical rehabilitation, Petron has committed to provide long-term solutions including a baseline health study. This is to monitor the spill’s effect on some communities in Cavite over the next two years, Remulla said.
He said that the recent oil disaster was the worst in Cavite. In July 2010, 400 liters of bunker fuel leaked and spread in a 500-square-meter area while this year’s spill has affected 50 square kilometers of the Cavite shorelines.