DSWD: More than 137k persons affected by oil spill
MANILA, Philippines — A tally from the Department of Social Welfare and Development showed that more than 137,000 persons have been affected by the oil spill incident in Oriental Mindoro.
The department said that as of March 11, 30,042 families or 137,230 persons from 121 barangays in the MIMAROPA and Western Visayas regions have been affected by the oil spill.
So far, the DSWD has provided P10,985,259 worth of food and non-food items to affected families.
Some 1,116 families — 740 of whom are from Barangay Algeciras and 376 from Barangay Concepcion, in Aguyata town, Palawan — received P5,000, through the department’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation.
DSWD meanwhile has launched its cash-for-work (CFW) program to affected residents on March 10, it said in a statement on Saturday.
Through the program, beneficiaries will receive the daily regional minimum wage every five days, for a total of 15 working days.
“A total of 70 fisherfolk were deployed in Barangay Batuhan, Pola, Oriental Mindoro to collect available materials in the community that will be used in making the improvised spill booms and oil absorbent, as part of the CFW program,” the DSWD said.
The oil leaked from MT Princess Empress that sank off Oriental Mindoro has already reached the shore of Taytay town in Palawan last Friday. Slick from the oil spill also reached Antique province.
The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute earlier estimated that oil from the sunken tanker may affect 20,000 hectares of coral reefs, 9,900 hectares of mangroves and 6,000 hectares of seagrass beds in Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan and Antique.
Authorities are scrambling to recover the vessel and contain the oil spill, which is disrupting the way of life of local communities and threatening the marine biodiversity in the area.
A team of experts from Japan arrived in the country last week to help Philippine authorities, especially the Philippine Coast Guard, in looking into the extent of damage of the oil spill and provide guidance on ongoing oil removal and control activities. — Kristine Joy Patag
- Latest
- Trending
