Top > World > 2006 > August > 2006-08-22

Filipino Oil Spill Aid Needed

The Philippines are seeking the assistance of the United States, Japan, and Indonesia to clean up the country`s worst-ever oil spill. Greenpeace, a well-known environmental group, said cleaning up the oil spill on their own - caused by a sunken tanker off Guimaras Island, in Negros province - was "completely unimaginable" for a country as ill-equipped as the Philippines.

The Philippines Coast Guard has repeatedly sent requests to the capital, Manila, to act quickly on the spill. Reports indicated that the tanker in question was leaking oil at a rate of 30 to 60 gallons per hour. Looking to the international community for aid, Filipino Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said, "The government has already sounded the alarm to foreign governments, including Indonesia, the US and Japan, to help refloat the sunken tanker."

"This is because a further environmental catastrophe looms as a big volume of oil, estimated at 450,000 gallons, is still trapped under water." Bunye went on to note that the Philippines National Disaster Coordinating Council "is doing everything it can to check this ecological, economic time bomb. The team is working at all levels to contain the spill, pinpoint accountabilities, repair the damage, and oversee assistance to the affected communities, set up prevention measures and look into long-term policy reforms."