DONATION. Sacks of rice intended for families in Caluya town, Antique province that were affected by the oil spill from the sunken oil tanker in Oriental Mindoro province are being unloaded from the BRP Malamawi of the Philippine Coast Guard at the Fort San Pedro in Iloilo City on Tuesday (March 21, 2023). The donation is now in a warehouse in the capital town of San Jose de Buenavista waiting for transport to the island municipality of Caluya. (PNA photo courtesy of OCD 6)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The provincial government of Antique through the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) has received 100 sacks of rice donation for oil spill-affected families in the municipality of Caluya.
The donation came from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) based in Cebu and was shipped Tuesday via Iloilo by the BRP Malamawi of the Philippine Coast Guard with the assistance of the Office of Civil Defense in Western Visayas (OCD 6).
“The sacks of rice are now at the warehouse in San Jose de Buenavista under the supervision of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO),” said PDRRM Officer Broderick Train, in an interview on Wednesday.
The PSWDO is currently making the necessary arrangement for the delivery of the donation to Caluya to help sustain the needs of families affected by the oil spill that was brought about by the submerged oil tanker in Naujan town, Oriental Mindoro province.
A report by the Coast Guard District Western Visayas showed that as of March 21, the oil spill has affected 7,486 households equivalent to 26,513 individuals from Sitio Liwagao, Barangay Sibolo; Sitio Sabang, Barangay Tinogboc; and Barangay Semirara.
Ten households from Sitio Liwagao are still staying at the Liwagao Child Development Center.
“The municipality of Caluya remains under a state of calamity due to the oil spill from the capsized M/T Princess Empress in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro,” Train said.
Caluya was placed under a state of calamity on March 6 due to contamination of its municipal water, marine protected areas, and marine resources to which residents depend heavily on for their livelihood.
Train further said that they still need oil spill booms to prevent the spread of the oil spill not only in Caluya but possibly in Antique’s mainland.
Various volunteer groups have already finished 150 out of the 1,000 improvised spill booms that they target to produce at Camp Gen. Leandro Fullon here.
These will be sent to Caluya and other coastal areas, particularly in the northern town of Antique.
“Although there is now continuous cleanup of the debris in the island barangays in Caluya, it is still better for the other coastal municipalities in the mainland to be prepared because of the unpredictable weather condition,” he said.
The CGDWV report showed that as of March 22, they have not received a report of the oil spill spreading to other areas in Panay island.
Their continuing cleanup operations has collected 3,100 liters of oily water; 1,634 sacks of sea grass, sand, and debris; and 90 one-tonner bags, 142 pails, and 381 drums of contaminated sand and debris from the three affected barangays. (PNA)
