27 channel swimmers brave Guimaras spill

ILOILO CITY — Less than a month after the worst oil spill in Philippine history, swimmers braved the waters off Iloilo for an annual cross-channel race.

The 27 hardy competitors numbered far below the hundred or more who normally take part in the swim between the islands of Guimaras and this city.

Most of those who pulled out cited the Aug. 11 sinking of the M/T Solar I off Guimaras, which resulted in the spilling of at least 50,000 gallons of bunker fuel, polluting fishing grounds, mangroves, corals and marine reserves.

John Paul Pia, spokesman of the Manila Broadcasting Corp., which sponsors the Open Cross-Channel Swim, said they were determined to hold the event to demonstrate that much of the area was unpolluted.

Marl Casabac, 17, who finished the 3.1-kilometer course first, said he saw no oil in the water during the race.

Although only a few swimmers participated, hundreds of people were on hand to cheer them to the finish line at the Iloilo City wharf.

The M/T Solar I sits under 640 meters (2,100 feet) of water, beyond the reach of human divers, and experts fear that the remaining 450,000 gallons of crude oil in the tankers’ storage containers may leak out.

Oil giant Petron Corp. has begun collecting the sludge recovered by cleanup teams in Guimaras and Petron Foundation executive director Malou Erni said Friday that they are already on the fourth day of collecting the sacks of debris.

Petron has deployed 10 dump trucks to collect the oil sludge awaiting transfer to a final disposal site to a barge docked at the Cabalagnan wharf.

The debris collected has so far reached some 1,300 metric tons, Erni said.

However, Petron officials remain tight-lipped about where the sludge will be brought for "final disposal."

Both Erni and the Petron Corp. spokesperson refuse to say where the debris will be brought for treatment and disposal.

Erni said Petron is finalizing matters regarding the final disposal site for the oil sludge.

Petron spokesman Carlos Tan said they have been conducting public consultations among localities they are eyeing as disposal sites for "social acceptability."

Although he refrained from revealing the possible disposal sites, he said public consultations have been conducted in areas covering "Southern Luzon to Northern Mindanao."

"So far we’ve received positive confirmations from the public consultations," he said.

"Ayaw naming mabulabog yung mga tao (We do not want to disturb the people)," Tan said, citing Petron’s reasons for not revealing the areas they are eyeing as disposal sites for the sludge.

He also said that these areas will not be used as conventional disposal sites: "These are sites for bioremediation treatment, not disposal. We will not just dump (the sludge) there and abandon it. We’re going to treat, not dump. A wrong impression is being created that we’re going to scatter the debris."

On Guimaras, residents have cut by half the time they spend to clean up the oil spill because of the hazards posed to their health by the bunker fuel itself.

Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Esperanza Cabral said Guimaras residents are now engaged in the cleanup operations for four hours daily instead of eight to minimize their exposure to the hazardous substances in the crude oil.

Cabral also said the four hours cut from Guimaras natives’ cleanup time will be spent "preparing lands for their agricultural activities."

Through the DSWD Cash-for-Work (CFW) program, Petron Foundation pays some 1,600 Guimaras residents P300 a day to help in the cleanup operations.

These workers help scoop up oil slicks polluting beaches and wipe oil from mangroves and shoreline rocks, as well as set up spill booms to keep the crude oil at bay.

Protective gear, such as face masks and rubber gloves, were provided to the Guimaras folk participating in the cleanup of their island, but health experts believe that prolonged exposure to crude oil is extremely hazardous to their health.

Health authorities noted an increase in skin allergies, respiratory tract infections and other illnesses of residents in areas of Guimaras affected by the oil spill.

The Department of Health (DOH) earlier reported that its air monitoring in these areas yielded high levels of toxic materials such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenze, xylene and hydrogen sulfide, particularly in the villages of Kabalaghan and La Paz in the town of Nueva Valencia.

It is estimated that some 4,000 households were affected by the oil spill.

Cabral assured the public that the DSWD and the other government agencies and non-government organizations working to restore Guimaras are committed to providing the affected communities with long-term livelihood to help them recover from the tragedy.

She said these livelihood projects include hog-raising and poultry farming: "These are long-gestation activities. That is why the DSWD and Petron Foundation continue to implement the CFW program to sustain the victims’ daily needs."

In Manila, the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s special task force on the oil spill has recommended that the Bureau of immigration issue hold-departure orders (HDOs) against all the Filipino and Japanese incorporators of the Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. (SMDC), the owner of the ill-fated M/T Solar I.

The DOJ special task force, chaired by Justice Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, is seeking the issuance of HDOs against SMDC president Clemente Cancio, Filipino SMDC incorporators Dionisio Parulan, Gregorio Flores, Roberto Mena and Angelita Buenaventura and the firm’s alleged Japanese incorporators Hiroyasu Yamaguchi, Mototsugu Yamaguchi and Hiromia Irishika.

A DOJ official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the special task force is convinced that the Japanese nationals merely used Cancio’s group to meet the law’s required 60 percent Filipino ownership provision in setting up SMDC.

"We see that there is a possible violation of the anti-dummy law," the source said. "That is why there is a need to place all the incorporators of (SMDC) under hold-departure orders, because there is a danger of flight, that they may leave the country to evade prosecution."

"If found guilty, they could face a minimum of five years imprisonment to 15 years’ maximum imprisonment," the source added.

The task force is scheduled to complete its investigation and submit its findings to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez on Monday.

The source also noted that "only one of the three Japanese appeared before the special task force’s investigation last Friday," a development that buttresses the DOJ’s apprehensions that the SMDC incorporators are "flight risks."

The task force is also looking into any other possible violations by SMDC of the Clean Water Act, the Corporation Code, Domestic Philippine Act, Revise penal Code and the Brown Environmental Law.

During Friday’s investigation proceedings, M/T Solar I radioman Herminio Renger, pumpman Jesse Angel and oiler Reynaldo Torio said Hiroyasu Yamguchi was the person giving them orders during their ill-fated operation.

Hiroyasu, who also testified Friday, told the DOJ panel that he divested and sold his shares in SMDC worth P1 million to Cancio.

The task force earlier recommended the filing of criminal charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide against Solar I captain Norberto Aguaro and Cancio.

The task force will also submit its findings to President Arroyo, who had formed the investigative body to determine what criminal liabilities must be faced by Aguro, Cancio, SMDC officials and Petron, which is partly owned by the government. — Ronilo Ladrido Pamonag, Sheila Crisostomo, Jose Rodel Clapano and AFP