Spill’s cost to mangroves: P6.5M

CEBU, Philippines - The oil spill has destroyed 328 hectares of mangrove plantations in the 12 barangays of Cordova and Lapu-Lapu City with damage reaching P6.560 million.

This was the assessment of Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7's seven-member quick response team, which was created to check the extent of the damage of the oil spill following the collision of M/V St. Thomas Aquinas and M/V Sulpicio Express Siete last August 16.

The affected barangays in Cordova are Bangbang, Buagsong, Day-as, Catarman, Poblacion, Alegria, Gabi, Pilipog, and San Miguel while those in Lapu-Lapu City are Calawisan, Babag, and Suba-basbas.

The computation of P6.560 million worth of damage was based on a P20,000 per hectare of mangroves.

These mangrove plantations, established from 2009 to 2012, were enrolled in DENR's Integrated Coastal Resource Management Project through the Asian Development Bank and the Global Environment Facility.

DENR Regional Executive Director Isabelo Montejo, in a statement sent to The Freeman, said that DENR will pass on the amount of damage to the shipping company responsible for the oil spill.

"We will wait for the conclusion of the probe undertaken by these agencies (Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Industry Authority) so that we can send a formal notice demanding or imposing such amount for immediate release to cover the costs for rehabilitation and replanting and other related activities to be made, " said Montejo.

Aside from the P6.560 million, DENR-7 will also compute the economic valuation to include protection cost, opportunity lost, tourism and heritage value, and provisioning value of the ecosystem such as food, medicine and others.

Montejo said these will be critically considered depending on the existing policies or guidelines by the local government units.

Organizations under contract with DENR 7's ICRMP whose mangrove plantations were hardest hit by the oil spill are Nagkahiusang Mananagat sa Bang-Bang , Catarman Fisherfolk Association, Kamampay Fisherfolk Association, Pilipog Fishermen Association, Alegria Fisherfolks Association, Singgit sa Mananagat sa Barangay San Migel, Panaghugpong sa Day-asanon Mananagat, and Gilutongan Water Distributor and Resource Management Multi-purpose Cooperative, all in Cordova; and Nagkahiusang Mananagat sa Calawisan in Lapu-Lapu city.

Among the groups, the Nagkahiusang Mananagat in Cordova and in Lapu-Lapu City has the highest number of planted mangroves that were affected with 76 hectares and 69 hectares, respectively.

A multipartite memorandum of agreement will be executed among the local government units (Cordova or Lapu-Lapu City), people's organizations, DENR, and the liable shipping company.

The amount collected as damage compensation should be placed in a government depository bank as a trust fund for a purpose of rehabilitating, reforesting and other activities that may be agreed in a MOA, Montejo added.

Montejo further said that DENR will also conduct an inventory on other mangrove areas not covered under ICRMP to see if they were also affected. —(FREEMAN)