Petron takes responsibilty for the oil spill as a response to the online petition of Greenpeace. Read the file here. They said they are working with the IOPC for the siphoning of the remaining bunker fuel and are “are focusing their efforts to create alternative livelihood programs” but did not explicitly say how much they are investing on these programs. Siphoning of the bunker fuel is reported to cost around 12 Billion while the IOPC Compensation would amount to 300 million pesos.
Blast from the Past: Take a look at Total Fina’s press release here, where they explicitly enumerated how much they are going to invest for rebuilding communities and the siphoning of the oil from the tanker. Below is the text version:
TOTALFINA will finance the pumping of the Erika – TOTALFINA will set up an emergency fund to assist cleaning up the shore(Dec. 30, 99)
TOTALFINA, which has worked with the authorities since the beginning within the framework of the Polmar Mer and Polmar Terre plans, has accelerated and strengthened its involvement by making the following two commitments:
1. TOTALFINA will finance the pumping of the Erika wreckage
TOTALFINA will directly finance the pumping of the fuel oil contained in the Erika wreckage. This will enable the compensation budget from insurers and the IOPC-International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (which amounts to FRF 1.2 billion or EUR 183 million) to be dedicated first to indemnifying people who have suffered economic damage and to reimbursing costs incurred in cleaning up sea and land pollution. TOTALFINA will provide assistance so that operations are carried out under the best technical conditions and in a timely manner, subject to weather conditions.
2. TOTALFINA will set up a FRF 40 million (EUR 6.1 million) emergency fund to assist cleaning up the shore
This fund will be allocated to two programs conducted in agreement with authorities in the affected districts and regions.
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THE FIRST phase of the cleanup of areas in Guimaras province affected by the Visayas oil spill was declared finished and disaster officials said they are making preparations to siphon off the remaining bunker fuel from the sunken tanker M/T Solar I. (Continue reading here.)
Defense Secretary and Task Force Guimaras chair Avelino Cruz expressed optimism Friday that the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) would finally approve the proposed siphoning of oil from the sunken tanker M/T Solar I before the month ends. (Continue reading here.)
- GUIMARAS BELIE PETRON SAFE REPORT Panay News, Oct. 13, 2006 (David Israel Sinay)
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Greenpeace
Greenpeace surprised Petron Corporation, when activists delivered a container drum of spilt bunker oil from the shores of Guimaras to the doorsteps of its corporate headquarters in the financial district of Makati. The move, Greenpeace says, is meant to stress the company’s irresponsible lack of urgency in retrieving the remaining bunker oil which continues to spill out from the sunken MT Solar tanker chartered by the oil giant.
Read the full press release here:
GREENPEACE PRESS RELEASE.
Manila, PHILIPPINES An unexpected surprise from the shores of Guimaras was brought to the doorsteps Petron corporation’s headquarters in Makati City. As Greenpeace activists delivered a container drum of spilt bunker fuel to highlight the company’s irresponsible lack of urgency in retrieving the remaining bunker fuel which continues to spill out from the sunken MT Solar 1 tanker chartered by the oil giant.
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“INTERNATIONAL Oil Pollution Convention (IOPC) Director General Joe Nichols told the media that the convention might approve a recommended siphoning of the remaining oil loaded in the sunken M/T Solar 1 but not a salvaging. (Read the rest of the story here.)
By Francis Allan L. Angelo
“DISASTER managers are toying with the idea of burying the remaining oil sludge in Guimaras. Presidential adviser for Western Visayas Rafael Lito Coscolluela said the experience of Semirara Island in Antique might be applied on Guimaras. (Continue reading here.)
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JOURNALISTS LASH OUT AT IOPC EXEC FOR DOWNPLAYING OIL SPILL-David Israel Sinay (Panay News)
ILOILO City Two months since the oil spill in Guimaras began, the sunken MT Solar 1 remains at the bottom of the Guimaras Strait and continues to leak bunker oil, displacing over 40,000 residents and destroying the environment. But International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Deputy Director Joe Nichols wants the media to downplay the environmental disaster.
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Oh my slow foot. In between now and December, there are 99 things that can happen in that oil tanker that is still dormantly lying in the ocean. God forbid, but if a Milenyo sort of typhoon hits Guimaras, that oil tanker can twist and turn and unleash its 1 million liters of oil and create a catastrophe part two! And if that happens, all the clean up efforts already made will come to waste. Read the Inquirer report here.
“Rafael Coscolluela, presidential adviser for Western Visayas, said Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz has submitted a report setting the timetable for the removal of the fuel.
The report said the December target was set after M’ns Jacobsson, International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC) executive director, has endorsed the proposal to siphon out the bunker fuel from the sunken vessel.
The IOPC executive committee was expected to approve Jacobsson’s endorsement at its meeting in London on Oct. 23, Coscolluela said.
The London-based IOPC provides compensation for oil pollution damage caused by oil spills from tankers.”
The health of the Guimarasnons helping in the clean-u is at peril. Inhaling vapors of bunker fuel can cause hypoxia or anoxia. Hypoxia is a condition where the is a decrease oxygen supply to the brain and can result in inattentiveness, poor judgment, memory loss, and a decrease in motor coordination.
Anoxia is the lack of oxygen in the brain which can cause irreversible brain damage. Read the full report at the Sludge blog.
It’s not just the air that is toxic, now? it’s also the drinking water. Panay News reported that there are “unacceptable levels of polyaromatic hydrocarbons detected in the water and soil.” (Read the entire article here.) No more livelihood, no more food to eat, no more air to breathe, no more water to drink!
Peron, (which I am now going to call our beloved oil company to the tune of Don´t-Cry For Me-Argentina- Evita) is being lambasted? on all fronts, sides, back and behind….and should have learned a lesson or two by now. But no, some of kind of primal retardation has made them stuck to playing child games.
So Peron decides to play Hide and Seek. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, Ready here I come!
The game is easy. Just hide the evidence and make sure nobody is looking.
“Somebody from Pe(t)ron ordered the laborers to cover the sludge with cement,”? Galvan, a head teacher in Panay said.
Galvan,? also said some oil sludge along the shores of their coastal barangay “may mga portion nga ginlubong lang sa balas (were concealed with sand).”
Pareng Peron, you´re it!? ? (Read the entire? article here.)
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