By Jigger J. Jerusalem, Correspondent .
RESIDENTS in a coastal village in Jasaan town, Misamis Oriental were alarmed over the report of alleged oil spill discharged from a water vessel in its waters, on Monday.
Sabas Tagarda Jr., Barangay Lower Jasaan chairman, said the discharge of liquid substance has already occurred twice, the first was reported early this year.
Tagarda said not one of the ship operators that are docked at a privately owned shipyard in Lower Jasaan has taken responsibility for the incident.
The spill was spotted by residents of Purok 11, Lower Jasaan, in the morning of Nov. 2, Tagarda said.
Tagarda said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau, the local environment office, and the Phil. Coast Guard (PCG) are coordinating to determine those responsible for the spillage.
He said the PCG are now checking every ship docked in his barangay.
What authorities have done, Tagarda said, was to take samples of oil in every ship and match these with the spilled substance to determine which ship has discharged the dark liquid to the sea.
He said the alleged oil spill has expanded to at least five hectares from the shore preventing fisherfolk to set sail.
The discharge even contaminated the newly planted mangroves in the area, Tagarda said.
As of Tuesday, the discharge has already been contained, he added.
In a separate phone interview Tuesday, Petty Officer 2nd Class Ronald Moncayo, acting chief of the PCG’s Marine Environmental Protection Force based in Misamis Oriental, said the substance that was discharged was “bilge oil” that accumulated at the ship’s engine room.
Moncayo said they are still finding out how the oil from the bilge, which is located on the bottom part of the water vessel, was discharged to the sea.
“Any of the more than 20 ships that are docked at the PICMWI shipyard could be responsible,” he said.
Among those that are docked at the shipyard are tugboats, passenger vessels, and cargo ships, all plying local sea routes.
Moncayo said he has already advised the company’s management to instruct operators of the vessels to remove the bilge oil from their watercraft prior to coming the shipyard to prevent unnecessary discharge.
He also recommended to PICMWI to put oil spill boom around the shipyard’s perimeter to further contain the spill and to determine if the oil came from within the company’s facility or from somewhere else.
Moncayo said more than 200 liters of the black oily substance were retrieved.
For his part, Conrado Mahinay Jr., an official of Community Environment and Natural Resources Office in Misamis Oriental, said it was good that the oil spill was contained right away so it could not damage the marine life in the area.
