Bataan fishers still waiting for assistance

TAKING ACTION Residents of Lubang town in Occidental Mindoro gather at the fish port in Barangay Maginhawa on Aug. 4 as they start preparing coconut husks collected during coastal cleanups. The husks will be pounded and combined with pieces of cloth as absorbents and with hundreds of plastic bottles as floaters. —Photo courtesy of Lubang Municipal Government

MANILA, Philippines — The fisherfolk group Pamalakaya reiterated its call for accountability from the government and the companies responsible for the oil spill in Bataan that impacted on thousands of fishers in the province.

Pamalakaya’s initial assessment revealed that at least 9,000 fishermen in Bataan were affected by the low price of their catch.

Ronnel Arambulo, Pamalakaya vice chair, said in a statement Monday that the traders’ buying price of “alubaybay” (Sardinella albella) fish was now at P50 per kilo, a 58.33-percent decrease from P120 per kilo before the oil spill.

READ: Fishermen struggle as Bataan oil spill disrupts livelihoods

Traders were buying low from fishermen “even though their fish catch is not directly contaminated and is far from the leaking ships,” he said.

Oil tanker MT Terranova sank on July 25 near Limay, Bataan, while carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel at the height of Supertyphoon Carina (international name: Gaemi). Two days later, another oil tanker, MTKR Jason Bradley, sank in Bataan’s Mariveles town while carrying 55,000 liters of diesel.

The southwest wind has already spread the oil spill to Manila Bay and Cavite, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

Getting ready

In Lubang town of Occidental Mindoro, at least 200 volunteers gathered at the fish port of Barangay Maginhawa in Lubang town, Occidental Mindoro, on Sunday to create improvised oil spill booms out of coconut husks and plastic bottles to protect their shores from the potential spread of the oil spill from Bataan.

Residents and officials of Lubang, situated some 78 kilometers southwest of Bataan, have been bracing for the spread of the oil spill since last week after experts from the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute projected the spill could reach Calatagan town in Batangas, some 40 km away from Lubang Island, by Aug. 2.

Lubang Mayor Michael Lim Orayani said by phone on Sunday that weather forecasts predicted the southwest monsoon would persist until Aug. 13, potentially affecting Occidental Mindoro, including his town that encompasses the northwestern half of Lubang Island and the island village of Cabra.

“Winds may change, so it’s best to be prepared. We had over 200 volunteers who managed to create about 200 meters of boom in just half a day,” Orayani said.

The mayor said they were preparing for their Aug. 15 town fiesta but residents took time off from their busy schedules to create the oil spill booms.

He said the coconut husks for the improvised booms were collected during coastal clean-ups and were pounded and combined with cloth pieces as absorbents and attached to hundreds of plastic bottles as floaters.

On Aug. 2, Orayani issued a directive to prepare for an oil spill, fearing its impact on their fishing areas and the local tourism.

Based on the 2020 census, Lubang has a population of 17,437, with around 4,000 fishers, farmers and vendors to be affected if the spill will contaminate their sea, which is part of the Verde Island Passage, known as the “center of the center” of marine biodiversity in the world.

Not affected

In Bulacan, officials denied reports of an oil spill in the province’s waters, noting the false claim has adversely affected the local fishing industry and of the other coastal towns in Central Luzon.

Wilfredo Cruz, director of BFAR Central Luzon, said in an interview on Monday that no traces of the oil spill in Bulacan’s aquaculture products were found during a sensory evaluation on Aug. 1, which assured that “bangus” and other aquaculture products in the province’s coastal areas of City of Malolos and the towns of Bulakan and Obando were safe for consumption.

He said consumers had been hesitating to buy aquaculture products from Bulacan because of the oil spill scare that has even reached Aurora province.

Cruz said the spill has not also reached Pampanga, as the sheen that spread from where MT Terranova sank has decreased to just a kilometer.

Lt. Commander Michael Encina, spokesperson for the PCG, said on Monday that only minimal traces of oil sheen remained in Bataan waters.