On the 28th day of February, an unfortunate event occurred somewhere on the territorial seas of our country. MT Princess Empress, an oil tanker, sunk. The ship was on its way to Iloilo from Bataan with 800,000 liters of industrial oil.
Needless to state, such an event triggered an even more unfortunate event. Tens of thousands of litters of oil has spilled. Consequently, the discharge of industrial oil in the waters, obviously caused an environmental crisis, as it affects, not only, dozens of residents on the affected provinces, but also its rich marine diversity.
According to the officials of the aforementioned affected provinces, in the span of days, the effects of such are getting stronger. From the overwhelming stench of the oil, to more people getting sick. Much worse is the concern that strong winds might carry the effects to farther places around the country.
While we know that transporting oil from production sources to consumption locations is an essential function in a country’s development, we must always remember that it is a function that carries with it great risks (The sinking of MT Princess Empress, must surely have reminded us that).
Thus, because it carries potential risks, we must then strive to take countermeasures on dealing with such matters. Unfortunately, however, the Philippine Government has yet to have strict rules regarding issues like these. In fact, most issues that carries environmental burden does not have strict implementation. We tend to always put it on as a “later” matter. While there might be actions that the Government is doing, that I do not know of, then they should do it with utmost priority. They should be followed through, not as mere lip service, and only revisited when another oil spill incident takes place. Lastly, it is prayed that the Government will do something to the residents of the areas affected. Helping them survive and get back on their feet should be their (Government) responsibility. Most importantly, they should see to it that the persons accountable for such a disaster be sanctioned. (AJDB
