Damage from the oil spill caused by a motor tanker that sank in the waters of Oriental Mindoro has surpassed P3 billion, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Thursday.

“Based on our latest data regarding the oil spill, the cost of damage is more than P3 billion and this is running until there is still oil leaking from the vessel,” Diego Agustin Mariano, head of the OCD’s Joint Information Center Office, told the “Laging Handa” briefing.

Mariano said they provided cash and food aid to the affected fisherfolk.

MT Princess Empress, which was loaded with around 800,000 liters of industrial fuel, sank in the waters of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro on February 28.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported that the oil spill management team had cleaned up 80.71 percent of Pola’s shoreline and 74.82 percent of Naujan’s shoreline as of Wednesday.

The report was based on a resurvey of several barangays in Pola.

In terms of length, the team said they cleaned 28 out of 34 kilometers of the affected shoreline of Pola and five out of seven kilometers in Nauhan.

Barangay Tiguihan, Barangay Zone 1, and Barangay 2 in Pola were declared oil spill-free.

Oil is present in approximately seven kilometers of shoreline in Pola and almost two kilometers in Naujan

Around 400 liters of oily water mixture was collected by the offshore response team in the waters of Baliwangan Point, Pola, Oriental Mindoro.

The team also collected 800 oil-contaminated debris in nearby provinces.

PCG said the concerned government agencies and stakeholders will proceed to the second and third phases of the shoreline cleanup by flushing, pressure washing on hard surfaces, pebble washing, and manual cleaning. Jaspearl Tan/DMS