DOH sends team to extend medical help to oil spill-affected communities

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health said it has dispatched a team to provide urgent medical assistance to residents affected by the oil spill from a capsized motor tanker in Oriental Mindoro.

According to a DOH press release, Health officer-in-charge Rosario Vergeire and a team of medical professionals inspected on Sunday the healthcare facilities and evacuation centers where the affected families are staying.

“This recent incident calls for a whole-of-government approach, and with the environment being a major determinant of the health of our people, the DOH is working closely together with other concerned national government agencies and local government units to mitigate the effects of the oil spill to the affected communities,” Vergeire said.

Motor tanker MT Princess Empress was carrying around 800,000 liters of oil when it sank on February 28. 

This resulted in widespread pollution and blackened waters, devastating the source of income of fishers in the area and posing health risks to families living nearby.

Around 150 families or 600 residents of Liwagao Island were affected by the oil spill, the Philippine Coast Guard said Saturday.

To limit the residents’ exposure to the hazardous oil spill, the DOH said it has coordinated with local government officials to distribute emergency inhalation, first aid and protective equipment to residents in Oriental Mindoro. The department has also provided hazmat suits for frontline responders. 

Vergeire added that the department has turned over medical equipment donated by various Metro Manila hospitals to the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro. 

She also reminded residents living near waters polluted by oil spills to take temporary shelter before it spreads to their residences and to avoid swimming in bodies of water contaminated by the spill.

Vergeire also reminded Filipinos to avoid consuming seafood caught in areas near the location of the oil spill.

Scientists from the University of the Philippines - Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) have estimated the total damage from the oil spill to be tens of thousands of hectares worth of coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass, all of which form the ecosystem that allows fish to thrive at sea. — Cristina Chi