The oil spill in Limay, Bataan will not reach the National Capital Region, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Tuesday.
The PCG said this was based on its aerial surveillance mission, even as it did not discount the possibility.
“The surveillance team observed from north-northeast, the first area of our surveillance, now it is south-southeast. So we are not expecting that he is going to Manila but we do not discount the possibility,” Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encina, spokesperson for PCG NCR-Central Luzon, said in an interview with Dobol B sa TV.
“The current trajectory of the oil sheen is going to Cavite and Batangas, which is south-southeast,” he added.
The MT Terranova, which was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil, capsized and sank on Thursday, July 25.
Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla said the oil slick from the sunken motor tanker has reached several coastal barangays in his province.
Speaker Martin Romualdez, for his part, mobilized Tuesday his colleagues to help thousands of fisherfolk in four provinces affected by the recent oil spill.
“We will not wait for them to ask us for help. We will approach them to find out what help they need from us and the government,” Romualdez told his fellow lawmakers. “The livelihood of our fisherfolk is at stake. We must act quickly to mitigate the damage and provide the necessary support.”
The House leader urged representatives from Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, and Cavite to coordinate with the concerned people to determine the assistance they need and the total number of affected fishermen.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said regulations covering maritime transport of petroleum products should be improved to prevent oil spills due to the extent of environmental damage that such incidents cause.
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