Task force for Bataan oil spill cleanup created

THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has created an interagency task force to consolidate cleanup and mitigation efforts to contain the oil spill off Lamao Point in Limay, Bataan.

Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos assured the public that the task force would move forward with concrete action and would provide regular reports to keep everyone informed about the status of oil spill cleanup and containment.

He said the task force would be composed of the DILG, Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health, Department of Transportation, Department of Science and Technology, and other national government agencies.

This aerial photo shows an oil slick in Manila Bay, about two kilometres off the coast of Malolos municipality, Bulacan province on July 29, 2024. A tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil sank in bad weather off Manila Bay, killing one crew member and leaving the Philippines facing the possibility of its worst oil spill ever. JAM STA ROSA / AFP

Also members of the task force are the provincial government units of Bataan and Bulacan and the local government units (LGUs) of Parañaque, Las Piñas, Pasay, Manila, Navotas and Cavite.

A tanker carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil capsized on July 25, around 7 kilometers east of Lamao Point.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier directed all concerned national government agencies to provide the necessary support for the affected LGUs.

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Meanwhile, the spraying of dispersants on the oil spill has been temporarily suspended to change to a more effective dispersant to be used for the cleanup effort, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan said on Tuesday.

He said that PCG personnel and auxiliary members were preparing to lay oil spill booms in areas projected to be affected by the oil spill.

Fisherfolk dry their catch along the shore in Noveleta, Cavite, where traces of oil from a tanker that sank off Bataan were found on July 30, 2024. PHOTO BY RENE H DILAN Fisherfolk dry their catch along the shore in Noveleta,