Friday 25 February 2011

Black substance in Carles waters creates panic


By Ruby P. Silubrico
Sun Star Iloilo
June 25, 2008

PANIC struck some locals of Carles, Iloilo after they saw a black substance scattered in the shores of their municipality.
They believed the said substance might be oil spill from a coal-carrying ship that capsized Saturday last week as Typhoon Frank hit the province of Iloilo.
The local government unit of Carles and the Bantay Dagat personnel immediately went to the area to verify the information. It was proven that the said substance was oil from the ship identified as M/V Lake Paoay from Semirara Island.
The ship capsized about 4 a.m. Saturday.
Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas Raul Banias Monday confirmed the ship spilled about 50,000 liters of oil when it capsized Saturday. He added that it could not damage the waters of Carles and it’s far from the Guimaras oil spill case.
Banias said the Semirara Mining Corp. chartered the M/V Lake Paoay. It was bound for Toledo, Cebu but upon arriving at the seawaters of Carles, strong winds and heavy waves hit the ship until it capsized.
“The oil in the water could not damage the seashore and there is no need to panic,” Banias said over a radio interview.
Banias said the vessel had 24 crews and other persons who also boarded the ship.
According to reports, seven of those in the ship were confirmed dead, while only 4 survived and 26 are still missing.
Banias said they now are monitoring the waters of Carles and will conduct a clearing operation.
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Mining firms want to explore Guimaras

June 24, 2008
By Maricar M. Calubiran
The News Today
June 20, 2008

Four mining companies have applied for exploration works in the the island province of Guimaras. The exploration applications cover 37,000 hectares or more than half of the island’s total land area which is 600,400 hectares.
The four mining firms are Fil Asian Strategic Resources and Properties Corporation, Dorilag Cement Corporation, Next Generation and Global Philippines. Of the four applicants, Fil Asian and Dorilag were given exploration permits by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Of the 98 barangays in the island, 84 barangays have been applied for exploration works to determine the presence of iron, copper, gold, limestones and other mineral deposits available in the island.
(Read the rest at Mining in Guimaras.)
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Guimaras chief hopes to receive additional oil spill fund

June 24, 2008
By Maricar M. Calubiran
The News Today
June 20, 2008

Guimaras Gov. Felipe Nava said they are hoping to receive additional oil spill funds from the national government. He said, of the P800 million oil spill rehabilitation fund, only P100 million was released to the province.
Nava said a team from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) in Manila arrived in the province last week and assessed the damage brought about by the oil spill.
As far as the governor is concerned, the releases that the national government had made was the P50 million for infrastructure, P25 million for the Department of Social Welfare and Development, P2.4 for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and more than P4 million for the Department of Health (DOH).
However, Nava is banking on the funds released to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for its cash for work program. The department has still in hand some P100 million for the cash for work program intended for the affected areas.
In one of his visits in Iloilo City, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said the national government would only release funds on a case-to-case basis.
Andaya said they are not in a hurry to release any fund without any purpose. The fund should be spent only for rehabilitation purposes and not for anything else. There are proposals from different national government agencies that were disapproved because of its non-relevance.
He stressed out that the fund should not be spent for projects such as road construction which is not in any way related to the rehabilitation of the island as an aftermath of the August 11, 2006 oil spill. The project proponent should give exact and convincing reasons why they should be given funds.
One of those projects that were disapproved by the government is the “food for work” of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Office. There is no need for the government to give allocation to the “food for work” program since the affected residents already returned to their normal lives.