Coast Guard checks oil sheen in Bacolod port

After containing an oil spill off Batangas province, the Philippine Coast Guard on Wednesday sent an environment protection team to attend to a slick spotted in Western Visayas waters. A report by radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo said the oil slick near the Bredco Port in Bacolod City was coming from an abandoned underwater pipe connected to oil giant Chevron’s refilling station. The Coast Guard sent a team with booms to prevent the oil slick from spreading, the report said. A separate report on the Visayan Daily Star Wednesday said the oil spill has caused fears among local fishermen after seeing dead fish, squids, and other marine creatures covered with grease being washed into the shorelines of Banago village in the city. Also, the report said a team from the three oil giants has put oil spill booms at the village’s shores to stop the leaking bunker fuel from spreading. Environment officer Max Sillo said an official from Chevron had admitted that the abandoned pipeline belongs to their company. Sillo said the presence of the team from Pilipinas Shell, Petron and Chevron in the area until late Tuesday afternoon was proof that an agreement among the three firms to help each other during such incidents is working. He said they will submit an incident report to the mayor for whatever help the city can extend to the fishermen whose livelihood has been affected. Also, he said fisher folk are complaining they could not sell their products because the people are aware of the oil spill in their area. Probe of Batangas oil spill On the other hand, Coast Guard spokesman Cmdr. Armando Balilo said they are starting an investigation into the Batangas oil spill. Balilo said Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo has ordered water samples from Batangas be brought to Coast Guard headquarters for analysis. Investigation showed the oil spill started affecting the mangrove area in Talibayog village in Calatagan town in Batangas as early as Sunday afternoon. The oil spill, measuring 80 by 12 meters, stemmed from bunker fuel oil scattered in the mangrove area. Coast Guard teams are conducting oil sampling from five vessels presently at the vicinity of Balayan Bay to determine if they were the source of the oil spill. — LBG, GMANews.TV