Coast Guard collects drums of oil mixture spilled in Carmen, Davao del Norte river

Several drums of oil mixture and over a hundred bags of contaminated solid waste and debris have been collected from a river in Carmen, Davao del Norte due to an oil spill incident allegedly from a nearby packaging company, the Philippine Coast Guard said Friday.

Thirty-four drums of oil mixture were collected from Ising River as of Friday, the Coast Guard said.

According to investigation, the oil spill allegedly came from Davao Packaging Corporation (DAPACOR) compound near Ising River.

Approximately 10,000 liters of blended fuel spill was reported to the Coast Guard on March 6, Capt. Armand Balilo, Coast Guard spokesperson, said.

A team from the Marine Environmental Protection Unit and Coast Guard District South Eastern Mindanao was then sent to the site to verify, and contain the oil spill. Two oil spill booms were immediately utilized to contain the oil from spreading.

The recovery operations of oil mixture, which started on Wednesday, will continue, Balilo added.

Meanwhile, an additional 77 employees of the company, who are also residents of the nearby barangay, were deployed to help in the recovery operations.

“After the containment we will conduct investigation to check on the liability of the spiller,” Balilo said.