Oil spill hits La Union, Ilocos Sur coastal areas

By Freddie G. Lazaro and Teddy Molina

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – An oil spill has reached the shores of La Union and spreading further north alarming environmentalists and fishermen who depend on the sea for their livelihood.

The Philippine Coast Guard and the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council are looking into accounts of fishermen that an oil tanker allegedly disposed of a black chemical off Bangar, La Union that caused the spillage in coastal villages in La Union and Ilocos Sur.

Melchito Castro, RDRRMC chairman, quoted the fishermen as saying that they saw the tanker dock several kilometers away from the seashore of Bangar a day before the spill was discovered Monday.

“According to the fishermen, the tanker is probably in mechanical trouble or intentionally dropped the black thick substance which is suspected to be carbon or asphalt. The Coast Guard already got samples of the material for examination to determine its kind,” Castro said.

He said clearing operations are still ongoing in the affected coastal towns of Tagudin, Sta. Lucia, Santiago and San Esteban and Candon City in Ilocos Sur, and Bangar, San Juan, Bacnotan and Balaoan towns and San Fernando City in La Union.

Castro said the spillage did not come from the Myanmar ship that capsized off Bolinao, Pangasinan because the vessel and its cargo were already contained.

Castro said the PCG and RDRRMC are locating the tanker so they could match the samples with its cargo, and if they do, then charges would be filed against its owner.

Nevertheless, Bolinao Mayor Alfonso Celeste wanted the PCG or any concerned maritime agency to order the owner of the sunken Myanmar vessel to remove the remaining oil in the ship to avert further damage to marine resources.

Mayor Alfonso Celeste told the media deep-sea fishermen have recovered about 10 tanks of oil in the area where MV Arita Bauxite sank.

Earlier, Capt. Pablo Gonzales, Philippine Coast Guard district commander, said they are looking into the possibility that the oil came from the Myanmar ship that capsized off Bolinao, Pangasinan recently.
The PCG received reports at press time that the oil spill has reached Tagudin, Sta. Cruz, Sta. Lucia, and Santiago towns and Candon City, all in Ilocos Sur

In La Union, the oil spill was reported in this city and coastal areas in San Juan, Bacnotan, Balaoan, Luna, and Bangar towns.
Based on the PCG’s initial assessment, the oil spill in Ilocos Sur has reached about 100 meters by three kilometers.
The oil spill in La Union was still being assessed as of press time.

Colin Curran, a Canadian volunteer in charge of monitoring the Lingsat marine sanctuary in this city, said the oil spill might affect the sea grasses within the protected area and the nesting place of sea turtles in Barangay DalumpinasOeste.
Authorities and local officials met at the provincial capitol last week to draw up a clearing operation and assess the possible damage to marine resources.

Meanwhile, residents in the coastal areas of nine towns and two cities in Ilocos Sur and La Union are presently conducting a massive clean-up of their shorelines following the sudden occurrence of oil last Monday here.

Chief Petty Officer Ernesto Renon of the PCG in Ilocos Sur said Tuesday that they are presently conducting an in-depth investigation to identify the source of the oil spill.

“Our operatives from the Marine Environment Protection Unit are now tracing out the sources of the oil spill,” he said