Mactan resorts start coastal cleanup

The entire province of Cebu was placed under a state of calamity as the oil spill from the sunken 2GO passenger vessel spread to beach resorts in Mactan island as well as mangroves and fishing villages of Cordova town.

Divers entered a third day of search and rescue for the 63 persons who may be trapped in the ship in Lawis Ledge in Talisay city or washed out to sea.

In Lapu-Lapu City some resorts advised their guests to avoid swimming in the beach where specks of oil could be seen in the water.

The city government announced a coastal cleanup and  donation drive for used bedsheets and linens to mop up the oil.

A full-scale cleanup is needed to contain leaks from the cargo hold of the sunken MV St. Thomas Aquinas vessel  which had 160,000 liters of fuel and lubricants, an operation that could take several weeks or months, as officials assess the damage to marine life and tourism.

In the marine protests filed by companies of both ships that collided off Lawis Ledge in Talisay City, skippers blamed each other for the Aug. 16 accident, citing lack of response to radio messages and the use of the wrong sea lane.

Outbound and incoming ships are assigned separate routes in the narrow channel leading to the busy Cebu pier, and violation of the rules on sea lanes will be looked into by a Marine Board of Inquiry.  (see story on page 4)

“The calamity declaration is timely because the effect does not just concern Cordova but other towns and cities as well,” Gov. Hilario Davide III said.

The resolution of the Provincial Board declared a state of calamity “due to the ill effects of the collision between MV St. Thomas Aquinas of 2GO and Sulpicio Express Siete especially the oil spill affecting several barangays in the province of Cebu.”

The PB, on mass motion, yesterday authorized the governor to tap a P47 million  standby calamity fund to help affected coastal communities whose fisherfolk families would go hungry since they can’t go to the sea for their livelihood.

“We are just anticipating (the need) but we hope that the oil spill will not reach other areas,” said Davide as reports identified Cordova, Talisay City and Lapu-Lapu City as the area of impact.

In Cordova town, 500 hectares of mangroves in six barangays were damaged by the oil slick, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.  Mangroves serve as nurseries for fish, a rich ecosystem for other marine life and a buffer against tidal surges.

Streaks of oil came from the MV St. Thomas Aquinas of 2GO which quickly sank to the bottom of the sea off Lawis Ledge in Talisay City.

Governor Davide said a P30 million quick response fund was immediately available for use according to provincial budget officer Danilo Rodas.

Davide said the province will immediately send food supplies to distressed fisherfolk families in Cordova and Talisay city.

“We will first attend to the needs in Cordova because in a meeting with Mayor Adelino Sitoy, we learned the oil spill has reached their fishing grounds and many were not able to go on with their livelihood,” Davide said.

Relief goods of rice and canned goods were sent by the Capitol’s social services office starting yesterday,  because small fishermen live day to day and rely on what they can catch at sea, Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said.

“We will give food to them today because they could only buy food out of their fish catch,” she added.

Governor Davide said he sees no need to use calamity funds to buy additional chemicals used by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to neutralize the oil spill’s effects.

Instead, he appealed for the public to help stop the oil from spreading through alternative solutions like used clothes, chicken feathers, hair strands and other materials that could absorb the oil.

“We are disseminating the information to the public so that in the meantime we can stop the oil from spreading,” he said.

The PB calamity resolution was sponsored by PB Member Thadeo Ouano and is unanimously approved by the board.

It said the Aug. 16 collision had a “disastrous effect on the province not only to the lives and limbs of passengers and properties but also to the environment as the oil spill continues to spread in the waters of the Province of Cebu.”

It authorized the governor to use the calamity funds “to make an abrupt and immediate action to stop the disaster from spreading further.”

The PB invoked Republic Act 20121 or the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act of 2010. /Peter L. Romanillos, Correspondent