Iloilo guv dismayed over laggard oil spill cleanup

ILOILO CITY, Philippines - —  Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. did not contain his disappointment over the snail-paced clean-up operation to contain the oil spill in six coastal villages in the towns of Estancia and Batad in Iloilo.

Citing the immediate need to protect residents and save marine resources, Defensor urged contractor  Kuan Yu Global Technologies Inc. to follow its timeline as stipulated in their P87-million contract.

Headed by Karl Ignatius Young, the Kuan Yu firm was hired by Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. to siphon off the remaining oil from the power barge of  the National Power Corp. (NAPOCOR) that was damaged at the height of typhoon Yolanda last November 8.

The oil spill has spread after a leak from the 35-megawatt power barge that carries some 1.4 million liters of bunker fuel.

As of Monday, Commodore Athelo Ybañez, commander of  Philippine Coast Guard-6, said some 865,000 liters of bunker fuel have spilled onto the shores of Brgy. Botongon in Estancia, around 150,000 liters of which were washed ashore and at least 137,000 liters recovered so far.

Ybañez said Kuan Yu Global Technologies Inc., has to transfer some 220,000 liters of usable bunker fuel from Power Barge 103 in Estancia to Power Barge 101 located in Iloilo City by Dec. 6.

The contractor gave its assurance to refloat and towed the damaged barge by that time and finished the cleanup after three months or by February 26, 2014.

It was gathered that cleanup operations was supposed to start Nov. 23. The contractor should have also finished siphoning the remaining bunker fuel inside the barge by Dec. 2, but it failed to meet the deadline.

Young, meanwhile, appealed for understanding if their cleanup operation appears sluggish, as he also belied reports that the company has no relevant experience on oil spill management and response. He said that Kuan Yu was among those hired to contain the oil spill in Guimaras and Semirara Island in Antique last 2006.

Lawyer Danielle-Anne Rubinos, chief of staff of  PSALM president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma Jr., vowed to take full responsibility of the oil spill cleanup operation and impose sanctions in case the contractor failed to do its job on time.

Meanwhile, there were some affected residents of  Botongon who are now preparing their complaints against the contractor for its slow clean-up operations. (FREEMAN)