A fishing ban in clusters 4 and 5 in Oriental Mindoro have been lifted, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) announced Thursday, citing the latest report of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

The ban was imposed by authorities due to an oil spill from a sunken motor tanker carrying around 800,000 tons of fuel. late February off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

During a press briefing of the National Task Force on Oil Spill Management held at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said fishing is allowed in clusters 4 (Bongabong, Roxas, Mansalay, and Bulalacao) and 5 (Puerto Galera, Baco, and San Teodoro).

Meanwhile, the fishing ban in clusters 1 (Calapan and Naujan), 2 (Pola ), and 3 (Pinamalayan, Basud, and Gloria) is still in effect, he added.

In a statement, OCD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said water sources and chemical hazards are being monitored.

“To continuously caution the communities on the dangers of the spill, the Department of Health has been conducting surveillance of drinking water resources and exposed individuals to chemical hazards along with the release of public health advisories,” Alejandro said.

“Health assessments will continue to be conducted by the Centers for Health Development on the affected population along with the monitoring of the latest situation, status of response operations, and possible assistance from the DOH Central Office,” he added.

Assistant Transportation Secretary Julius Yano said they are processing more than 4,000 claims, most of which are for fisherfolk and employees of the tourism sector.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported that it has provided P430 million worth of assistance through family foodpacks and non-food items.

According to its latest oil spill situation update, four provinces were affected including Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Antique, and Batangas.

Within the provinces, 249 barangays were affected and 15 municipalities have declared a state of calamity.

The number of families affected was 40,733 or 192,616 persons.

Agricultural damage in the Mimaropa and Western Visayas regions amounted to P4,731,060,735.74.

A total of 24,698 fisherfolks were affected by the oil spill.

An estimated amount of P886 million was projected in losses over a six-month period due to the incident.

The oil spill has also affected 1,438 tourism workers. Jaspearl Tan/DMS