Guimaras reviisted

Guimaras revisited
Stained, sticky forecast
Brgy. Tando, Nueva Valencia—The beach looked postcard-perfect. But 110 days
since the MT Solar 1 went down about 10 miles off Guimaras, traces of bunker oil are
still evident over swathes of once-tidy beachfronts. Even the air reminds anyone of
the incident’s lingering stain.
“Solar 1 was carrying a fuel cargo of 2.19 million liters or 97% of its carrying
capacity of 2.24 million liters”. The cargo was equivalent to 2,064 metric tons or
96% of the ships deadweight, government data said.
Sixty-four year old Filomeno Galve speaks of the misfortune as if he just rose
from a bad sleep. In 35 years as a fisherman, he’s never seen such devastation that
seemed irreversible. Mainly because storms had whipped the island hard as anyone
his age could remember. But this one’s different.
Like Galve, the fishing village’s economic future mirrors the color of what a
giant multinational company possibly considers “black gold”.
More than 300 meters of Galve’s nylon fishing net was damaged. Before the
oil spill, he catches an average of 30 kilos of fish every time he went out. Now the
catch dipped to 5 kilos on average.
Galve’s story plays out again in 41-year old Samuel Gandecila who has logged
22 years as a fisherman. And their story echoes over and over among the other
fishermen.
“Bunker C fuel is a dense, sticky oil produced by blending heavy residual oils
with a lighter oil”, a Guimaras provincial health office flyer explains.
The fuel “is used in industrial burners…internal combustion engines of
compression-ignition type used by marine vessels”, it added. “The specific gravity
of a particular bunker C fuel can vary from 0.95 to greater than 1.03”. The oil can
“float, suspended in water column or sink. Small changes in water density may
allow the oil to sink or float.
Bunker oil’s characteristics and effects to health and environment are well
documented. Guimaras has to deal with clean up and rehabilitation of 220kilometer coastline, 454-hectare mangrove, and another 58-hectare seaweed farm.
Hardest hit were the island-province’s three of five municipalities such as Nueva
Valencia, Sibunag, and San Lorenzo where 27 of 40 barangays [villages] and 3,357
families were affected, the provincial government reported.
Whatever, the incident’s socio-economic and environment costs are many and
varied. Scientists of different stripes can surely crunch the figures. But there
probably are invisible costs that may not be quantified.
Like a person’s memory of childhood fun, sun, and endless beach frolic. [Rodel
G. Offemaria, S&T Media Service]
Photos: Rodel G. Offemaria