Mindoro oil spill cleanup in final phase

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said it might take 30 more days before the government can finish the last phase of the cleaning operations on the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro.

Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said this after the Dynamic Support Vessel (DSV) Fire Opal that would extract the remaining oil from the sunken MT Princess Empress arrived at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone last Friday.

In a statement, Garafil, citing various reports from government officials, said DSV Fire Opal would finish the last phase of the cleanup which may last for a month.

"The DSV Fire Opal will extract and transfer oily waste to a tanker and then dispose of the collected oil. Officials said the siphoning operations may last up to 30 days," she said.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu said they expect to finish the extraction in 20 to 30 days. President Marcos hoped the cleanup would be done in under four months.

In a separate report, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said the last phase would last a month.

"The operations will last for 20 to 30 days if weather conditions are favorable, meaning the remaining oil from the sunken vessel will be retrieved," he said.

The vessel was expected to arrive in Batangas yesterday. It will then proceed to the designated mission area.

The DSV was chartered by the Malayan Towage & Salvage Corp. and contracted by the Protection & Indemnity Insurance Club (P&I).

In an update to Marcos earlier this month, Defense Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. reported that, of the 74.71 kilometers of affected coastline, 62.95 kilometers, or 84.26 percent, have already been cleaned up as of May 10.

Galvez said the OCD recorded a total of 6,801 liters of oil waste and 300,603.60 liters of oil-contaminated waste that have been collected through the efforts of various agencies and organizations.