AC Energy Philippines Inc. assured that it is “doing everything” to address the environmental impact of the oil spill incident in Iloilo City.
A power barge docked at Zone 3 in Barangay Bo. Obrero, Lapuz district was damaged by an explosion last Friday afternoon, July 3, which resulted in the spilling of fuel oil into waters off the city.
The damaged Power Barge 102 is owned by AC Energy, the power arm of conglomerate Ayala Corp.
The oil spill also affected the towns of Leganes and Dumangas in Iloilo province, and Buenavista town in the island province of Guimaras.
AC Energy said it immediately undertook containment procedure that involved the use of multilayered spill booms from the power barge, and additional layers from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Petron Corp.
“Recovery capacity increased with the arrival of additional skimming equipment from Shell Philippines and the company’s Power Barge 103,” it added.
According to the company, 179,300 liters or 70 percent of the estimated 268,000 liters of fuel that spilled “have been successfully recovered” as of yesterday, July 5.
“Clean-up is estimated to be completed in 10 to 15 days,” it said.
AC Energy also vowed to “support” communities affected by the oil spill.
“We immediately relocated 120 households to nearby Barangay Obrero Elementary School while the clean-up of the sheen in their areas is being completed,” it said.
“Wes have provided food, health care, PPEs and othee necessities, and we are working on their further relocation to their nearby schools to maintain physical distancing,” AC Energy added.
The company said the investigation into the incident is ongoing and it would review the third-party asessment to prevent similar incidents from happening.IMT
Photo by Bombo Radyo-Iloilo
