Oil drilling can cause ecological problems

Despite protests, drilling for oil started the other day off the coasts of Aloguinsan and Pinamungajan in the midsection of southwest Cebu. This is a Japanese project authorized by the Department of Energy and given environmental clearance by DENR. The protesters are mostly marginal fishermen whose livelihood is sure to be affected by this venture. Environmentalists as well as conscience-driven citizens are joining the counter-move. For their part, four congressmen (Eduardo Gullas, Teodoro Casinio, Antonio Cuenco and Benhur Salimbangon) have filed a resolution in Congress asking the Committee on Natural Resources to look into the impact of this project in the areas mentioned.

Will the oppositionists succeed in stopping the project? We doubt. This is unfortunate because the damage to the ecosystem is likely to be very serious. The immediate after effect will be loss of livelihood for hundreds of small-time fishermen as well as for other people whose subsistence depends on marine products. But more alarming is the possible destruction of marine life forms including indigenous corals and seabed vegetation.  Tañon Strait is a protected seascape and the waters of Aloguinsan and nearby towns are part of it. Moalboal, a tourist destination whose come-on are white sands and abundant sea resources, also fronts a sea expanse which connects to Tañon channel. This too will be affected by the drilling activity.

With oil exploration, marine pollution in that area will be an inevitable consequence. This will of course set back tourism in these parts because, who will vacation in a place whose waters are polluted? To be disadvantaged therefore will be not only the fisher folks but also other people especially those engaged in tourism-related business.

Sadly, the national government has turned deaf ears to the plea for help. Petitions have reportedly been sent to stop this organized destruction of Cebu’s coastal ecosystem but to date no response has been received. Sadly too, Cebu’s leadership seems to have allied itself with national decision makers, the reason why it has remained noncommittal to the cause of its own simple folks in the affected municipalities.

This don’t-care posture, however, is easy to understand. A development venture such as oil prospecting is a revenue-generating activity and the governments, both local and national, are bound to get windfall of cash out of it. More money would flow into their coffers if oil is discovered, so why oppose the exploration?

The situation here is the usual tug-of-war between development and environmental preservation, between progress and status-quo. Development is not always antithetical to a wholesome environment, nor is a wholesome environment a negation of development. The two can be mutually supportive, given a nonsense management. Talk of livable communities – these are usually found in progressive places. But in poverty-stricken areas, dirt and squalor prevail.

This premise considered, why are the fishermen alarmed over the oil search in their areas? Why are environmentalists disturbed? The reason could be the kind of project programmed for implementation. Putting up a land-based factory is less threatening. But punching holes on a seabed in search of hydrocarbon deposits is certainly more damaging to the environment, marine environment particularly.

Government experts who are behind this project claim that in the long run the protesting fishermen and the residents in the project sites will benefit from this operation. Even in its initial stage, they say, dollars will be spent, which of course will beef up the economy. Moreover, employment opportunities will be at hand and local entrepreneurs will be happy.

Arguing in the name of progress, however, does not fare well with simple, scratch-and-dig folks. What do they care of progress if their very livelihood is at stake? If their catch dwindles, the food on their table also dwindles. Then their kids would go to school with half –empty stomachs and the family’s day to day needs would be prejudiced. To them the morrow is of no moment; it is today that matters. The morrow, they know, can take care of itself. Besides, who can be sure if the promised progress would cascade its goodies down to their level? They have seen enough of decrepit folks in prosperous places, of kids eking a living under the shadows of high-rise structures.

Who can be sure if once oil flows, they won’t be washed away to the shores of greater penury?