Congress to probe Semirara oil spill

A joint panel from the Senate and the House of Representatives will conduct an on-site inquiry on Saturday on the massive oil spill off the coast of Semirara island in Antique.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, head of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources and co-chairman of the congressional oversight committee on clear water, will lead the inquiry.

"The panel will inspect the site of the oil spill and look into the progress of cleanup operations as well as the real extent of damage to the environment two months after the incident," Cayetano said.

At Malacañang, President Arroyo said she has ordered newly appointed Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes to act quickly on the Semirara oil spill.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said representatives from his department went to the site last Monday with members of the Philippine Coast Guard for an ocular inspection.

The National Power Corp. (Napocor) has discussed with energy officials a rehabilitation plan while the Coast Guard and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will team up for the cleanup, Lotilla told reporters who interviewed him during a break in budget deliberations at the Senate.

The oil spill was caused by a Napocor barge last December, contaminating some 40 square kilometers of the waters off Semirara island and destroying mangroves and coral in the area.

Napocor has hired about 50 casual workers to clean up the oil spill. It is estimated that the cleanup will cost P80 million and take four months to finish.

As of now, about 30 percent of the oil spill has been cleaned up, Lotilla said.

"The Semirara Coal Corp. also started operating on the island itself. It’s the one that mobilized the cleanup effort," he added.

Lotilla also allayed public fears of a possible spread of the oil spill towards Boracay island.

"Boracay is 60 nautical miles away. Second, all the oil went into a cove. Third, winds are going to Semirara, not Boracay. That’s what I heard from the Coast Guard," he said.

Cayetano and other lawmakers will look into reports by the University of the Philippines in the Visayas and the Coast Guard that 175,000 cubic meters of spilled oil may have already contaminated the seabed off Semirara island.

The probe will be expanded to cover the situation of affected residents, including fisherfolk and shell pickers, whose livelihoods have been permanently altered by the Dec. 18 oil spill.

"In the end, we hope to come out with recommendations to hasten the cleanup and remedial legislation that would provide additional safeguards for the environment for similar incidents in the future," Cayetano said.

Cayetano will be joined by Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta, who chairs the House committee on ecology and co-chairs the congressional oversight committee on clean water, and Sen. Edgardo Angara, who authored Senate Resolution 430 that called for a congressional investigation into the oil spill.

The three lawmakers will fly by helicopter on the morning of Feb. 18 to conduct an aerial inspection of Semirara island. They will then proceed to Balabag Elementary School in Boracay island for the joint committee hearing, which will include resource speakers from the different agencies involved in the cleanup.

Among those invited to the hearing are Napocor president Cyril del Callar; Capt. Arturo Olavario, the Coast Guard commander in the Western Visayas who is spearheading the cleanup drive; and a team of marine experts from UP Visayas led by Dr. Rex Sandaba.

Representatives from Barangay Semirara and those from the business establishments in Boracay were also invited. The joint panel will also tackle related bills filed in both chambers seeking to increase existing penalties on marine pollution, establish a proposed oil spill liability fund and set up a mechanism for the implementation of the 1992 International Convention for Oil Pollution.