July 21st, 2023
House Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda (Albay, 2nd district) lauded the administration of the President Marcos for its work on the Mindoro oil spill, after the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) declared that waters around the island “are within Class SC standard” and free of “PAH (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) from demersal and pelagic species.” The classification prompted the Oriental Mindoro government to open its waters to fishing.
“The quick and drama-free response, which coordinated government efforts and kept people’s livelihoods afloat in the meantime shows this government’s commitment to ecology and to tourism, considering that the area is a tourism star and a biodiversity hotspot.”
“The Verde Island Passage is the center of the center of marine biodiversity in the world, so we should not be underestimating the scale of this crisis or the significance of the Marcos administration’s response,” Salceda said.
“Like most of the best accomplishments of this administration, it’s under-the-radar and without much fanfare. I congratulate the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), as well as the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Southern Tagalog District, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Luzon Command, and the Mimaropa local government units for the great work done. I also congratulate the Department of Tourism for the work to protect our best beaches from oil spill.”
“Of course, more work needs to be done to ensure that the waters are completely clear of oil spilled, and to compensate those affected, especially in the fishing industry.”
Salceda assured the administration that Congress will continue to work with the government on the clearing operations.
“We will continue to work with President Marcos on this. Our leader, Speaker Romualdez was among the first to send financial assistance to affected fisherfolk. The leadership is committed.”
Salceda adds that “the incident was also a wake-up call about just how economically-important and ecologically-fragile the area is. The region is home to some of our best beaches, Puerto Galera and El Nido included. We need to protect these before we have a Boracay situation where we need to lock the beaches down for rehabilitation.”
“Our tourism is strongly ecology-dependent. I hope part of the Love the Philippines campaign of Secretary Frasco will be concrete actions to love and take care of our beaches and eco-tourism destinations before it’s too late.”