AN OIL spill hits the coastline of Barangay Hoskyn in Jordan, Guimaras. (Hosykn Facebook page)
ILOILO CITY – Environmental groups have sought an investigation over an oil spill in Guimaras last week.
“We are calling on state agencies to expedite fact-finding efforts to ensure that responsible actors are identified and held accountable,” said global environmental organization Greenpeace Philippines in a statement on May 2.
Officials of Barangay Hoskyn in the capital town of Jordan reported the presence of spilled bunker fuel on the shoreline on April 25.
Majority of the oil spill has since been removed in an operation led by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) but it is unknown where the oil originated.
The Earth Island Institute Asia-Pacific also urged an investigation. “Authorities must immediately investigate and identify the perpetrator behind the spill and ensure full transparency in the findings and hold all responsible parties liable," said Trixie Concepcion, regional director of Earth Island Institute Asia-Pacific.
The Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) said the oil spill “exposed serious gaps in marine protection and enforcement across the country’s critical marine and coastal ecosystems.”
They called on the government to mitigate the oil spill to reduce the damage to the environment and people.
The oil spill occurred on the Iloilo Strait that separates that separates the islands of Panay and Guimaras. Hundreds of vessels pass through the area.
It occurred nearly 20 years after the country’s worst oil spill in the island-province.