Good news from the local government of Puerto Galera.
Mayor Rocky Ilagan, citing a report from the Office of Civil Defense, has said that its municipal waters have remained uncontaminated by the sweeping oil spill from the oil tanker that sank in late February off Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro.
This was counter to a pronouncement by Oriental Mindoro Governor Bonz Dolor said Saturday, as he said Puerto Galera and nearby areas failed four consecutive water quality tests, making the popular tourist destination unsafe for swimming and other water activities.
“As far as water quality is concerned, salt water, from Puerto Galera to Bulalacao, bagsak (failed the test),” Dolor told reporters at Pola town, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited this weekend.
The oil tanker MT Princess Empress sank on February 28 off Naujan while carrying 900,000 liters of industrial fuel.
Ilagan said the oil slick had reached 84 barangays across 10 towns in the province; as of April 15, Puerto Galera was not one of them.
On Saturday, Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency was not recommending a ban on water activities in Puerto Galera, but the town was already included in a random test sampling to check its waters.
She said the data had not been conclusive but gave assurances the DOH would prohibit the public from using or consuming water in the town if it was proven it had chemical contamination that could be harmful for the body.
Ilagan said the LGU will maintain the status quo and await the official position of the DOH, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the inter-agency task force to verify the information regarding the oil spill.
“A hasty and premature reaction from the LGU, without considering the advice of the members of the task force, may have an adverse effect on the general welfare of our people, which is always of paramount concern,” Ilagan said.
Earlier, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco initiated a scuba diving activity in La Laguna Point, Puerto Galera “to balance the need to manage a crisis while ensuring livelihood by supporting our local government units through unwavering national government efforts geared towards the industry.”
Frasco said Puerto Galera continued to be unaffected by the recent oil spill, adding that it remains open for tourists worldwide. Vince Lopez
In March, the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute projected that the oil spill might reach Puerto Galera as the Northeast Monsoon or Amihan slowed down and was going towards the north along the Verde Island passage.
Ilagan had called out the UP-MSI for this projection, saying it resulted in tourist booking cancellations.
In response, UP-MSI associate professor Dr. Irene Rodriguez said they released their projection as an “early warning” for local governments to prepare in case the oil spill reaches their respective waters.