DAVAO CITY – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) here conducted oil spill-response exercise to evaluate its capability in case of oil spill incidents.
Chief of the Philippine Coast Guard-Sta. Ana Lt. Commander August Dann Carino, said that his unit is ready to handle incidents of oil spill given the existence of its oil spill contingency plan.
Carino assured the preparedness of the PCG’s capability to control, mitigate, recover and rehabilitate in the event of an oil spill in the Davao Gulf area.
He said that companies and depots should “come up with their own oil spill contingency plan for them to be ready to respond in case of contingencies.”
“Oil spill impacts on the beach resorts and marine-protected areas by damaging the environment and its biodiversity,” he said.
Commodore Joselito de la Cruz, commander of the PCG-Southeastern Mindanao area said it was the first time that the oil and shipping companies and the Philippine Coast Guard came together to discuss common protocols and reporting oil-spill incidents.
In his assessment, De la Cruz said, there is still a big room for the capabilities of all agencies and stakeholders involved to improve.
“If a massive oil-spill occurs, we need to use bigger vessels and we need more oil spill-combatting equipment. Our sole purpose is to come up with a contingency plan and common procedures and to get the cooperation among stakeholders in the Davao Gulf area,” he said.
He also said it is more challenging to handle oil-spill response during bad weather, especially when the boats used are small.(davaotoday.com)
