We'll Restore Guimaras Back To Its Natural Beauty

We’ll Restore Guimaras Back to its Natural Beauty -Statement of Petron Corp. Chairman Nicasio Alcantara during the Senate hearing on August 28, 2006.

WE at Petron, deeply regret this unfortunate incident and have taken responsibility in addressing the containment and recovery of the oil spill both on land and sea, and more importantly, map out the long-term rehabilitation of the island of Guimaras.

We are doing everything humanly possible to assist those affected. In our effort to attend to the needs of the people immediately, we may have inadvertently set aside our equally important obligation to keep the media and the rest of the country informed of what we are doing.

Under our Ligtas Guimaras program, we have already cleared 62 kilometers of shoreline and we expect the on-shore clean-up to be completed in 30-45 days. We are currently employing more than 1,000 people from affected communities daily and we aim to increase this number in the coming days. We have also deployed about 5% of the total workforce of Petron to participate in the work being done on the island.

In this clean-up and rehabilitation effort, we want to make it clear that we have made funds readily available for legitimate expenses and requests. We will continue to commit all necessary Petron resources in support of this effort. We are committed to the solution of this problem.
At sea, we have deployed substantial equipment including oil skimmers, oil spill booms, dispersants and Waterborne Industry Spill Equipment (WISE) tugboats to combat the oil spill. We have also placed properly-equipped vessels in strategic areas to monitor the oil spill and ensure that this in contained.

As we earlier reported, the vessel Shin Sei Maru, owned by Fukada of Japan, is expected to arrive by mid-week, weather permitting. It is equipped with a Remote Operated Vehicle which has the capability to search the seabed down to 2,000 meters and take videos to determine the sunken ship’s exact location and condition. This will dictate our next course of action.
We are now using Radar-Sat, a Canadian space agency, to give us satellite maps of the area and to help us make informed and timely decisions. In coordination with the World Wildlife Fund, we are sharing this information with various government agencies.

We are working with environmental experts from U.P. Visayas and Siliman University to develop a long-term rehabilitation plan for the mangrove, marine and fishery resources.With the help of the Department of Health, a 24-hour medical assistance command center has been set up with five doctors, three nurses and eight health workers in the three barangays.

We have conducted an extensive aerial survey of the Guimaras area all the way to Masbate and these areas are clear of any oil slicks. We will now concentrate on containing the leak from the source.

We have received word that the Protection and Indemnity Club and its partner the International Oil Pollution Fund have taken the obligation of providing compensation to the victims of the incident. They have tasked Steven Adjusters to be the focal point for receiving all pollution damage claims arising from this incident and are keen to evaluate claims and make reimbursements without delay. The Club and IOPC will conduct a series of claims workshops in the affected areas to facilitate the claims-making process.

Moving forward, we have a Shipping Alliance program which aims to procure newer vessels with double-hull and double-bottom. In fact, M/T Aston will be commissioned by the end of the month. This program is ahead of the requirement of the International Maritime Organization by two years.We wish to take this opportunity to thank all those groups and individuals such as San Miguel Corp., Mirant, and CNOOC, who have partnered with us.

In closing, I would like to assure the people of Guimaras that we will be there and do whatever it takes to clean-up and rehabilitate the strait and island of Guimaras. We are committed to restore Guimaras back to its natural beauty no matter the cost. We are ready to work at this for the next 3-5 years or longer.

Panay News