Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino urged consumers to be extra cautious when buying and consuming fish and shellfish sourced from coastal areas affected by the oil spill from the motor tanker Terranova.
Tolentino was referring to the motor tanker that capsized off the waters of Limay, Bataan last July 25.
He issued the reminder on Tuesday, July 30, during his visits to Barangay 31 in Caloocan City, and Barangay 123 in Tondo, Manila.
“As consumers, we should take extra precautions when buying or consuming fish or shellfish that may have come from coastal areas affected by the oil spill,” Tolentino said.
“We need to clean these products thoroughly, or maybe avoid these at all for health and safety considerations,” added the senator.
During Tolentino’s radio program ‘Usapang Tol’, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo gave updates on efforts by the PCG and the shipping company to contain the oil spill and siphon off the remaining oil inside the tanker.
PCG Commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan said on Monday, July 29 that the underwater leaks of the sunken MT Terranova and MTKR Jason Bradley off Bataan’s coastal waters have finally been sealed.
Gavan said a total of 14 leaks were detected and sealed by divers from the Harbor Star Shipping Services – the salvor contracted by MT Terranova’s ship owner Shogun Ships Co. Inc. – from the valves of the containers holding 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil (IFO) onboard the tanker.
The progressive fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) reported on Monday, July 29, that the oil spill has reached the shorelines of Tanza, Cavite.