Oil slick hits 11 towns in Ilocos Sur, La Union

MANILA, Philippines - An oil slick dumped by an unidentified cargo vessel has affected 11 coastal towns in La Union and Ilocos Sur provinces, a local official said Wednesday.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Regional Director Melchito Castro said that the oil slick has spread to five coastal towns in La Union and six more towns in Ilocos Sur.

Castro said that the oil slick was detected on Tuesday, a day after the unidentified cargo ship was seen off the town of Bangar, La Union.

The villages affected by the oil slick in La Union were San Fernando City, San Juan, Luna, Bacnotan, Balaoan, and Bangar while areas affected in Ilocos Sur include Tagudin, Sta. Lucia, Candon City, Santiago and San Esteban.

The official said that teams from the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines have been mobilized for the massive clean-up of the affected towns.

He said investigations were ongoing to identify the ship responsible for the oil spill.

Meanwhile, Castro said that the oil could not have been spewed by MV Harita Bauxite, a Myanmar-owned vessel loaded with copper ore, which sank two weeks ago off Bolinao, Pangasinan.

He said the distance between La Union and Bolinao is too far.

Castro said the Philippine Coast Guard district has submitted samples of the substances recovered from the shoreline of San Fernando City to its main office in Manila for laboratory examination.