MANILA – Oil spill cleanup along the shorelines of the towns of Pola and Naujan in Oriental Mindoro province is nearing completion, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday.
In an update, the PCG said the incident management team in Oriental Mindoro reported a “shoreline clean-up completeness” of 80.71 percent in Pola and 74.82 percent in Naujan.
“This was based on the day 59 summary report after the resurvey at the following barangays in Pola: Misong, Tagumpay, Puting Caco, Tiguihan, Bayanan, Zone 1, Zone 2, Batuhan, Calima, Buhay na Tubig, and Bacawan; including Barangay Masaguing and Barangay Herrera in Naujan,” it said.
To date, the oil spill response team has cleaned about 28 out of the 34 kilometers of affected shoreline in Pola and five out of seven kilometers in Naujan.
“The team also declared Barangay Tiguihan, Barangay Zone 1, and Barangay Zone 2 in Pola 100 percent clean,” it said.
About seven kilometers of shoreline in Pola and almost two kilometers of shoreline in Naujan remain contaminated with oil.
“Concerned government agencies and stakeholders now conduct Phase 2 and 3 of shoreline clean up by flushing, pressure washing on hard surfaces, pebble washing, and manual cleaning,” it said.
Monitoring activities, it said, will continue in the surrounding waters for possible new oil sightings.
Earlier, Counselor Kwon Soon Hyun of the embassy of the Republic of Korea turned over eight trucks full of oil absorbent material to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Officer-in-Charge Rolando Punzalan Jr. to be used in the containment of the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro.
The oil spill occurred on Feb. 28 after oil tanker MT Princess Empress experienced engine trouble, encountered big waves, strong winds, and eventually sank while carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel. (PNA)
