Oil Spill: victims or beneficiaries?

By Limuel S. Celebria

 

Less than a month after PB 102 spilled some 250,000 liters of bunker fuel near the shores Bo. Obrero in Iloilo City, the oil clean-up is almost done and the tedious and thorny process of providing livelihood and disturbance compensation to the victims is well underway. As events unfold, we may soon consider those affected by the oil spill, not as victims but beneficiaries.

In a letter to the Iloilo City Council dated July 17, 2020, lawyer Esther Marie Amular Bantog, AC Energy Philippines Vice President for Legal and Regulatory, reported that as of July 15, 2020: “A total of 261,364 liters out of the estimated volume of 268,948 liters of spilled oil have been recovered; a total of 25 drums and 654 sacks of oil-contaminated materials have been collected in Iloilo while 448-sacks have been collected in Guimaras; and a total of 24 tons of oil-contaminated materials have been hauled and transported to accredited Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities.

The letter was in response a city council resolution authored by Councilor Ely Estante, Chairman of the Committee on Environment.

Bantog stressed: In coordination with local government units, other government agencies, and third party contractors these individuals (PB 102 personnel, industry partners and other stakeholders), were working round the clock to clean up and mitigate the environment impact of the spill, rebuild the coastline, and most importantly, allow the affected families  to go back to their homes.”

In fact, the families temporarily displaced by the oil spill – residents of Barangays  Loboc, Bo. Obrero, and Mansaya have all returned to their since last week after what could be considered a memorable staycation in the city’s luxurious hotels – Courtyard by Marriott (753 individuals), Diversion 21 Hotel (266 persons), and District 21 hotel (72 persons). Apart from the opportunity to enjoy a lavish accommodation, the “victims” were also attended by physicians and other medical personnel not just from the City Health Office but also from Qualimed Hospital.

The oil spill victims – beneficiaries would be a better word, also stand to receive compensation from AC Energy Philippines (ACEPh) sooner rather than later. ACEPh Plant Operations Manager Gabino Mejia said data gathering involving those affected by the oil spill have already started at the barangay level days after the mishap on July 3.  Mejia said it’s a tedious process but one that is necessary to determine how many were affected and how badly, if at all.

It was agreed that the date will be verified by the barangay captains after which it would be submitted to the lawyers – Sayno and Regalado law offices – for further validation. The final arbiter will be management discretion which, judging from Mejia’s statements, will lean on the generous side.

Mejia had been very much in touch with the local officials. “I’m happy to say,” Mejia stressed, “that the parties have been very understanding and cooperative.”

Virtually the same procedure was observed when it comes to claims made by local government units – Iloilo City, Oton, Leganes, and Dumangas towns in Iloilo Province and Jordan and Buenavista in Guimaras, Mejia said. He has already met with the mayors and other officials involved.

The clean-up is almost done in Iloilo while in Guimaras, 23 of 36 barangays have been completed. The Guimaras coast was “harder hit” by fugitive oil which escaped containment aided by strong waves.

With the cleanup nearing completion, a long term plan is on the drafting board. A coastal plan involving the rehabilitation of the shorelines, especially affected mangrove areas, is being undertaken with the country’s foremost expert in the field – Dr. Rex Sadaba of UPVisayas taking the lead. A more difficult (because of its complexity) fisheries assessment will also be undertaken also with UPV’s marine scientists being tapped.

“We’re doing everything we can to bring things back (to what they were before the oil spill),” Mejia said.

Surprisingly, in her letter to the council, Atty. Bantog disclosed that while ACEPh indeed owns Power Barge 102, another entity –  Bulacan Power Generation Corp., maintains and operates the power barge as per an agreement entered between the two companies way back in 2015. Nonetheless, she assured that their company fully supports the City’s pursuit “to protect the environment and ensure the well-being of its constituents and other affected stakeholders.”