Fish retailers in Limay, Bataan held a boodle fight to show that fish in their area was still safe to consume, while residents in Mariveles said that their fish had begun to taste like oil fuel.
According to a “24 Oras” report by Jun Veneracion on Friday, local authorities are considering filing charges against the owners of the three sunken oil tankers in Bataan.
“Yung aming provincial legal office, kasalukuyan nilang pinag aaralan kung ano pa ang basehan para mag-file pa ng legal case alang alang sa kababayan namin, at syempre sa kalikasan natin dito sa Manila Bay,” said Bataan Governor Enrique Garcia III.
(Our provincial legal office is currently studying the basis to file a legal case for our residents, and of course for the environment here in Manila Bay)
In Mariveles, five different barangays have experienced the impact of the sunken MTKR Jason Bradley near their shores.
“Kung maaari tanggalin na ang barko diyan para naman maging maayos yung hanapbuhay ng mangingisda, lalo na katulad namin na hindi namin kaya bumili ng manok, baboy, karne. Ito lang kaya namin bilhin. Napakahirap po talaga,” said resident Inday Dapitan.
Fishermen in the area also said that they have not been able to catch any fish since the tanker sank.
“Puro basura ang nakukuha. Walang mahuling isda, puro dumi,” shared a fisherman.
(All we can get is garbage. We can’t catch fish, it’s all dirt)
“Minsan marami kaming nahuhuli. Eto nangyari, ito lumubog ito, kahit isa wala kaming mahuli,” added another fisherman.
(Sometimes we catch a lot. When the tanker sank, we couldn’t catch a single fish)
The sunken tankers MTKR Jason Bradley and MV Mirola 1 in Mariveles have affected barangays Mountain View, Cabcaben, Town Site, Lucanin and Batangas II.
Meanwhile, fish retailers in Limay insisted their fish was safe to consume after sales dropped due to fear of possible oil contamination.
“Wag po kayo matakot kumain ng isda, ligtas po ang isda sa Limay,” said a fish retailer.
(Don’t be scared to eat fish, fish in Limay are safe)
“Kaya lahat po ng taga Limay, bumalik na po kayo sa pamimili rito,” added another fish retailer.
(All residents of Limay, you can go back to buying here)
Authorities said that oil siphoning may not start until the next two weeks as they had to replace the metal capping of the canvas used to seal the valves of the sunken MKTR Terranova in Limay.
“Yun po yung iniintay namin ngayon, yung update po ng salvor if they are done with the sealing and capping po ng mga valves natin. (That is what we are waiting for right now, the salvor’s update if they are done with the sealing and capping of the valves) They will be submitting their reports [and] we will base on that report if we will go and proceed with the siphoning process,” said Bataan Oil Spill Response Incident Commander LCDR Michael John Encina.
The provincial government has begun discussions with the insurer of MKTR Terranova regarding compensation for affected residents, but said that charges against the owners of all three tankers were possible.
The Philippine Coast Guard said it will also look into who is responsible for the incidents after finishing oil recovery operations on the three vessels. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/LDF, GMA Integrated News
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