In the advent of the oil spill incidence in Oriental Mindoro, Honorable Governor Humerlito “Bonz” A. Dolor called an inter-agency meeting cum press conference to arrive at the fastest and most efficient solutions that could possibly aid on the environmental, economic, health and other risks coupled with the said abrupt catastrophe, ABC Building, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, March 6.
The Provincial Government of Oriental Mindoro, headed by Gov. Dolor, gave the meeting a trifocal focus namely 1) to give the MT Princess Empress owners a chance to physically show up as an expression of sincerity and accountability to what was brought about by the ruined vessel; 2) conduct a press conference to brief the media and be transparent to the masses about the situation in the province relative to the oil spill incidence and; 3) gather the inter- agency task force to collaboratively work on the most effective means to solve oil spill- related problems directly and indirectly affecting the Mindoreños and eventually transition to recovery from it.
The first part was a focused group discussion among Governor Dolor, two of the owners of the sunken tanker MT Princess Empress, their spokesperson, a representative from the third party insurance company who will be responsible for the computation of due compensation to all forms of damages made by the mishap to people and properties and a representative from Harbor Star, the hired entity to develop logistics that will strategically locate the sunken container ship, stop the spill and prevent more oil from reaching the shore lines and avoid further damages to Mindoreños, their properties, the economy and the environment- the same company who responded to the late Guimaras oil spill incidence. During the meeting, there has also been the noticeable presence of officials from the Philippine Coast Guard and other personnel from the Provincial Government of Oriental Mindoro.
Meanwhile, officially covering the press conference were media persons from TV 5, Rappler, UNTV among others and with the team from Oriental Mindoro Provincial Information Office (PIO). The said press conference was aimed at not only disseminating information to the public but also at providing avenues for questions to be addressed by PGOM, representatives from the owner’s party and other lead authorities.
The meeting was graced by core officials of the different concerned national and local government agencies and with the acknowledgement of the governor came the designation of tasks such as the Philippine Coast Guard in cooperation with the Calapan Station Coast Guard to lead the entire task force, the Department of Health (DOH) in coordination with the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Health Office (PHO) to oversee the present situations relative to health within the affected areas, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to provide water to be used by the communities for sanitary purposes, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to spearhead the distribution of goods and allocations, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in coordination with Provincial Environment and Natural Resources (PENRO) to gauge environmental risks, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to secure the safety levels of fish and marine products caught from the affected bodies of water, the Provincial Agriculture Office, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management (PDRRMO), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine National Police (PNP) and Naujan Municipal Government to help alongside. Environment Undersecretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga from the National Government also flew to Oriental Mindoro for this meeting and to communicate firsthand the compassion and support of the Office of the Philippine President on this challenge faced by the province of Oriental Mindoro.
Meanwhile, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) through its Regional Director, Angelina M. Carreon, assured to provide assistance in the province’s undertakings through providing training of fisher folks on spill blooms and other relevant trainings such as construction- related qualifications for their alternative livelihood.
While the meeting was about to end, Governor Dolor announced that according to a call he just received from USec Loyzaga, the sunken ship was spotted around 7.5 nautical miles from Balisangan Point facing the town of Pola. The development came after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources deployed BRP Hydrographer Ventura and used its multi-beam survey to locate the sunken vessel.
The meeting concluded at 3:00 PM with the governor’s encouragement to all public servants to never cease helping the province and fellow Mindoreños most particularly in trying times as this.