Cash-for-work program urged for Iloilo town residents displaced by oil spill

PART of the shoreline of Estancia, Iloilo, that was contaminated by oil spilling from a power barge that was detached from its moorings in the town, lifted off the water by Supertyphoon Yolanda’s 300 kph winds and slammed into communities. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II asked Wednesday Iloilo officials to come up with a cash-for-work program for residents displaced by the oil spill in the province.

Accompanied by DSWD secretary Corazon Soliman and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Roxas met with Iloilo local officials and advised them to coordinate with their regional DSWD office in providing a livelihood for their calamity-stricken constituents.

“Instead of hiring people from other places to carry out the oil spill recovery and cleanup operations, we will tap the services of some of the affected residents,” Roxas said in a statement.

In Botongan village, Estancia town alone, 4,000 individuals or 1,892 families were displaced after the power barge of the National Power Corporation slammed into the town’s coast  at the height Supertyphoon Yolanda, causing more than 200,000 liters of bunker oil to leak.

“The Estancia LGU, thru their social welfare offices, will be the ones to identify the residents eligible for the cash-for-work program,” he added.

Due to the health risks posed by the toxic emissions of the oil spill, the Department of Health has recommended affected residents to evacuate in nearby evacuation centers.

The damaged power barge is owned by the state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation.

PSALM, which is managed by National Power Corporation, hired the services of Kuan Yu Global Technologies, Incorporated to carry out the oil spill response.

According to the statement, the oil recovery and cleanup of the damaged power barge may be completed by February 26 next year.

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