PCG responds to oil spill off Mariveles, Bataan

MANILA, Philippines — About 25 liters of used oil spilled into the coastal waters of Mariveles, Bataan, on Thursday, November 5, spreading across 500 square meters before the Philippine Coast Guard contained it with booms, the PCG said on Friday, November 6.

The PCG said it received a report of the spill at Sitio Naswe in Barangay Ipag at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

Initial findings traced the oil to "washing activities," the PCG said, though the source remains subject to further verification. 

By 6:30 p.m., responders had packed 800 kilograms of oil-contaminated debris and spent absorbent materials into 40 sacks, which were placed in temporary storage at a secure site.  

For Thursday's cleanup, the PCG mobilized seven absorbent booms and 2,200 absorbent pads in coordination with the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.  

Cleanup operations are scheduled to resume on Friday, the PCG said.

Used oil is classified as hazardous waste under DENR rules implementing Republic Act 6969 or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990, which govern how such waste is stored, transported and disposed of.  

The spill reported yesterday is much smaller than the one from the tanker Terranova, which sank off neighboring Limay in July 2024 with 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil and left a slick the PCG measured at 12 to 14 kilometers long.