Mega Visayan region govs meet on bridges but Guimaras is the topic

Majority of the 16 governors of the Visayas and several Cabinet members met yesterday at the provincial capitol of Negros Occidental. The main topic was the Trans-Visayan Friendship Bridges linking the islands of Bohol, Mactan, Cebu, Leyte, Negros, Guimaras and Panay.

But while they tackled the multibillion-peso project, there was the hovering shadow of the Guimaras oil spill in their heads. But Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado informed Guimaras Gov. JC Rahman Nava that the provincial governors of the Visayas have donated some P500,000 to help the beleaguered island-province.

Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon hosted the conference. He also tendered lunch for the visiting local executives at the L’Fisher Hotel Restaurant. This is the first meeting of the governors of the Visayas Mega Region.

While Gov. Nava and Nueva Valencia Mayor Diosdado Gonzaga have started the relocation of residents of two villages worst-hit by the oil spill because of health risks, Antique Gov. Sally Zaldivar-Perez was telling me about the National Power Corp.’s livelihood reachout to the Semirara fisherfolk.

Napocor, she told me yesterday, had already brought a big boat for the fishermen’s cooperative. The state firm also distributed cash indemnification to the fishermen who lost their livelihood to the oil spill in December.

"Now, most of them have the capital to start again earning their livelihood," declared Perez during an interview at the NAIA II where I met her on her way to the Bacolod Mega Region meeting.

Gov. Perez outlined to me how the Napocor reacted to the oil spill and the organized way by which the power firm handled the crisis jointly with the Philippine Coast Guard and the Semirara Coal Corp.

"Ricky Consunji immediately provided them with the initial money needed to cope with the multi-faced approach to the problem caused by the oil spill. That they reimbursed the firm later showed that the most immediate requirement was met," Gov. Perez said.

That, to a certain extent, could serve as a model as to how Petron should have reacted to the Guimaras oil spill.

Anyway, more important is that 134 families of Nueva Valencia have been requested to evacuate their homes at the shoreline and stay temporarily with their relatives or in evacuation centers.

Gonzaga said 100 people in Sitio Banasan in Barangay Cabalagan have been evacuated. There are also 300 more people in Barangay La Paz ready to be evacuated.

The reason: tests showed a high level of pollution from the oil slick.

Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas Raphael Coscolluela said the President has ordered the areas tested for toxic substances, such as hydrogen sulfide, which is hazardous when inhaled.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the evacuation after an overnight visit to Costa Aguada resort last Monday where she convened the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

She also instructed the new task group to fast-track the sampling of shore areas as well as fish and other marine life.

The task group is headed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. It includes the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the health department, the soils bureau, the University of the Philippines-Visayas, Silliman University, and the Southeast Asian Fisheries and Development Center (SEAFDEC).

But a lot more was hurt by the oil spill other than those directly affected in Guimaras. Fishermen of Pulupandan, Negros Occidental were also badly hit by the "fish scare" despite the fact that the oil slick has yet to reach the fishing town.

Pulupandan Mayor Luis Mondia disclosed that fish buyers (compradors) are no longer buying fish from Barangay Zone I-A in that town for health reasons.

Provincial board member Reynaldo Depasucat pointed out that there was no reduction in fish catch by Pulupandan fishermen but suspicions that the fish may be contaminated by bunker fuel has driven sales down.

Provincial Disaster Management Team head Vic Defante said this apparently stemmed from suspicions by some people that the fish may have been contaminated by the oil spill.

It may be recalled that the health department earlier issued an advisory to Guimarasnons to refrain from eating or selling fish, shellfish, and other marine products from the spill area.

Depasucat’s team, which included Edwin Abanil, chief of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, and board members Frederick Ko, Fernando Leonor, Elmer Layumas, Mae Javellana, and Adolfo Mangao, found out that the oil spill has not yet reached the waters of Hinigaran, Pontevedra, San Enrique, Pulupandan, and Valladolid.

But the story is not all bleak. At least, the presidential party helped dispel the report of massive damage to the tourism resorts of Guimaras. Costa Aguada, the resort owned by Tony Oppen, at least got a major boost to its prestige with the presidential party staying there overnight.

But whether they can convince many guests to change their minds remains to be seen. Tourism is one of the main earners of Guimaras. The President optimistically predicted that Guimaras may be able to recover soon from the impact of the country’s worst environmental calamity.

Regional tourism director Edwin Trompeta pointed out that Guimaras’ tourism is multi-faceted and the island has more attractions than Boracay. Of course, he admitted that it may take sometime for it to recover.

Income from tourism increased from P6.1 million in 2003 and hit as much as P20.64 million in 2005.

Well, the latest development indicates that Petron may have finally agreed to barge the oil debris out of Guimaras. This is because Gov. Nava objected to having the oily debris dumped in any part of the island-province.

A lot more is happening — and may happen after the crisis. One of the most damaging is the admission by the skipper of MT Solar I that he had an expired license and that some members of his crew may have problems with their licenses.

That puts Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. on the spot. So with Petron for not exercising due diligence in hiring the tanker.

ADDENDA. Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, AFP chief of staff, arrived here yesterday with his staff purportedly to apprise the Mega Region governors about his plan to coordinate civil and military efforts to contain the peace and order situation in the area. But it could also include his assessment of the insurgency problem in Negros Occidental. Latest reports indicate that NPA rebels divested security guards of a mining firm of two caliber .38 revolvers and a 12-gauge shotgun. This was just after they had taken off with several firearms from members of the Bantay Dagat group in Toboso town in northern Negros. That latest incident was in the adjacent town of Calatrava. Lately, the NPA has become more active in northern Negros, especially in the towns of Calatrava and Toboso and Escalante City… The big news for Negrenses was the return to Bacolod of Japanese Fumio Mizumo, a former volunteer of the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement who was kidnapped by communist insurgents while he was organizing farmers in Murcia town to cultivate mulberry trees for silkworms. He was held captive for more than a month. He was released when the rebels realized that they could not prove their claim that he has working with the government. Mizumo is now 52 years old and the farmers he had helped have been producing silkworms, which contribute silk yarn to the Negros Mayu and Silk Corp. under Thelma Watanabe.