Published: January 6, 2014
The Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST) expresses deep alarm over the possible contamination of the marine environment along the coast of Antique from a coal barge that had ran aground at the height of Typhoon Seniang.
According to reports, the barge carrying more than 6,000 metric tons of Semirara coal on its way from Semirara Island in Antique to Toledo City in Cebu encountered problems off the coast of Balud village in the town of Tobias Fornier.
PBEST is concerned over the magnitude of environmental destruction that such a huge amount of coal pollution poses to the marine ecosystem, especially to a recognized center of marine biodiversity such as the Philippines.
PBEST Secretary General Ysan Castillo said a similar case in Colombia in 2013 caused affected fishermen’s catches to decline by up to 60 percent, in addition to other harmful effects.
“It also impacted marine life because the mining company, which dumped some 1,900 tonnes of coal to the ocean, just decided to leave it there. Even businesses along the coast complained how the coal dust have hurt their businesses,” Castillo said.
Such contamination will definitely destroy marine life not just in the waters of Antique but the surrounding shores, and might pose further danger to other marine-protected areas as well. One of the hardest hit will be subsistence fishermen from fishing municipalities in the vicinity.
We call the attention of all those responsible, along with the national government, to the magnitude of this problem. PBEST enjoins all entities involved to act with great haste to avert the environmental disaster we fear.
To the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, through its Environmental Management Bureau, what has been done and what is the agency doing to address this issue, and mitigate its deleterious effects? We implore the DENR to act with the same swiftness and conviction as it did when it responded to the Padcal mine tailings spill, and heavily fined Philex Mining Corporation.
To the shipping company and the Semirara Mining Corporation, we ask whether adequate precaution was exercised in shipping vast amounts of coal in such a high-risk environment during an accurately forecasted typhoon. This is the fundamental question that must be answered. PBEST demands that these entities proactively take measures to prevent or mitigate the marine pollution caused by their obvious negligence.