The oil spill caused by the motor tanker which sank in Oriental Mindoro last Feb.28 has prompted more problems for the residents in the municipality of Pola, its mayor said Sunday.

In an interview with dzBB, Pola Mayor Jennifer Cruz said the oil spill has had a “domino effect”, affecting not only the livelihood of fishermen but other industries.

“We are encountering more problems. Because initially, we were only worrying about food and how we could file a case against the owner (of the motor tanker). This time, the problem has become bigger and it’s like a domino effect…''Everything is affected. Tourism. Livelihood''. Cruz said.

Cruz said she is expecting alternative livelihood programs for the fisherfolks whose jobs were affected by the oil spill.

“For this time, the best assistance that we could get is the long-term alternative programs for the fisherfolks because the experts say that the effects of the oil spill could take a long time. The cleaning operations alone could take up to three months, and it would take more or less six months before they could venture into the sea again,” she said.

Cruz said the cash-for-work program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has started in their area, and the Department of Labor and Employment will be next.

In an earlier interview with dzBB, Senator Cynthia Villar, who heads the Senate panel on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, said that around 30,000 fisherfolk were affected by the incident.

Cruz said setting oil spill booms are not enough to manage the oil spill.

“The problem with the oil spill boom is that at night, they remove the oil collected from it. So that means the oil that was gathered in the oil spill boom just returns,” Cruz said.

“From what I know, according to the report of the Coast Guard, it is removed at night because they don’t have operations in the evening. Because in the morning, they release what is collected in the oil spill boom…so we just keep repeating the process,” she added.

Cruz said that she will rely on the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to pursue the investigation of the oil spill incident.

“The DOJ and the NBI are already investigating this. It’s up to them. I leave the decision to them on how they file charges against the owner of the ship so that our city will achieve justice. And so the owner will be held accountable for what they did because we cannot bargain with them if we do not file a case,” she said.

MT Princess Empress, owned by RDC Reieled Marine Services, was said to be loaded with 800,000 liters of industrial fuel.

Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said later in a radio interview that the motor tanker was actually carrying 900,000 liters of oil. Jaspearl Tan/DMS