Priority responses to the 2006 Guimaras oil spill, Philippines: Will
Transcription
Priority responses to the 2006 Guimaras oil spill, Philippines: Will
Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ocean & Coastal Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman Priority responses to the 2006 Guimaras oil spill, Philippines: Will history repeat itself? ~ a* Rex Balen College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, Miagao, Iloilo 5023, Philippines a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Received 15 June 2011 Received in revised form 5 November 2014 Accepted 7 November 2014 Available online 19 November 2014 The Guimaras oil spill of 2006 was the worst environmental accident of the Philippine and coincidentally happened during a period of rapid progress in nationwide communication technology. This study took advantage of the massive media coverage of the incident to answer questions about the priority needs of the affected population, the prominent disaster response, and the rationale for the response. Techniques were combined to implement a descriptive analysis of the available information-interview of key respondents and news survey, substantiated by a document analysis of hardcopy and online materials, and content mapping in the integration and analysis. The priority needs of the oils spill victims were few and basic-a plain consequence of economic and physical dislocations. Yet, these needs were inadequately met because the many forms of disaster response “diluted” the relief operation and further spawned unwarranted issues that aggravated the situation. Habitat assessment and rehabilitation, especially of mangroves, emerged as the prominent response. Aggressively pushed by experts and advocates, it competed with and overshadowed the priority action on the distressed population. The environmental response is linked to a lingering foreign crusade. The environmentalism is unregulated and turning adverse, but it continually succeeds because, apart from its domineering advocacy, as foreign imposition, the society is naturally resilient to it, Philippine laws support it and, particularly, even intellectuals espouse it. Moreover, there exists a large pool of potential environment advocates in the country with hardly 1% of which being development-oriented. Other failures of the disaster response are discussed. The aftermath rippled with issues on litigations, irregularities and continuing research. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Guimaras Oil spill Priority needs Disaster response Mangroves Research Rehabilitation Environmentalism 1. Introduction On 11 August 2006, an 18-year old tanker sank just south of Guimaras island in the Philippines and began spilling 2,162,230 L of bunker oil owned by the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) or Petron (Olavario, 2009). Dubbed as the Guimaras oil spill, it became the worst environmental accident in the country (Puyat, 2010). The spill wreaked havoc to the southern coastlines of the island (28 barangays1 in 4 towns) and then spread to the coastlines of Panay (22 barangays in 2 towns of Iloilo Province), Negros (1 barangay) and Bantayan islands (Fig. 1). In Guimaras alone, the incident distressed 23,635 individuals (4727 families) (RDCC-6, * PO Box 249, Iloilo City 5000, Philippines. E-mail address: [email protected]. 1 The smallest political unit or administrative division in the Philippines; a local counterpart to a village. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.11.007 0964-5691/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 2006). Its second largest town of Nueva Valencia sustained the worst impact involving 12,600 individuals or a hefty 40% of the town's population (RDCC-6, 2006; BFAR, 2005). Later field counts were higher, suggesting that the actual number of residents being affected was increasing (Burgos, 2007a). The nation was thrown into disarray, ironically, despite the fresh memory of the 18 December 2005 incident, wherein 364,120L of bunker oil polluted the coasts of Semirara island in Mindoro (Magramo, 2007). Task Force Guimaras, the body of lead and support agencies mandated to deal with the present incident, mobilized late on Day 13 (23 August) (UN-OCHA, 2006a) and mainly as a consequence of the fateful Day 11 meeting of the local government units (LGUs) of Iloilo Province. Prompted by the threat of the westward spread of oil pollutants across the Guimaras Strait, executives rushed a disaster action plan and declared the province under a “state of calamity.” On Day 16 (26 August), the President of ~ o and the Republic declared a “national calamity” (Avendan Napallacan, 2006). ~ a / Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 R. Balen 43 Fig. 1. The study domain (left), centered on the island province of Guimaras (G, shaded), is situated at the central portion of the Philippine archipelago (top right). Dotted lines enclose the Guimaras Strait (G.S.). A triangle marks the approximate location of the sunken tanker, MT Solar-1, in what is popularly called the Panay Gulf. The strait is bounded northwest by the coastlines of Iloilo Province in Panay Island and southeast by Negros Island. The small island of Bantayan (B) is located further northeast. The northern coastal towns of Iloilo are: A e Ajuy and C e Concepcion. Nueva Valencia (bottom right) is the second largest of the five municipalities of Guimaras with a population of at least 31,996 at the time of the incident (11 August 2006). Its hardest hit barangay of Lapaz is shaded. Source of coastline data: GEBCO Digital Atlas Centenary Edition (IOC, IHO and BODC, 2003). No less devastating was the nature of the disaster response: While the needs of the oil spill victims were few and basic, the responses were many and diverted focus on other priorities. As a consequence, there emerged a host of extra conflicts arising from, among others, goods allocation and distribution, funding, cleanup, recovery operations, and even the conduct of investigations. Similarly with the previous (Semirara) incident, the plight of the human population was, again, masked by an overwhelming outcry for marine habitats (notably the mangroves), their assessment, cleanup and rehabilitation2 (Burgos, 2007b; Ramirez, 2007). The government could not come up with a livelihood plan or alternative agenda on lost incomes, hence, desperate claimants embraced existing compensation offers including the controversial ones (Sinay, 2007a,b; Panay News, 2007). The tanker remains sunken to date, and there is no unequivocal information about oil leakage, the extent of pollution, and the hazard posed by the not-so-visible oil contaminants. Only the following emerged as definite: a disgruntled population (Punongbayan, 2010; Reyes et al., 2010), oil residues in Nueva Valencia (Pahila et al., 2 “Rehabilitation” denotes the reparation of ecosystems or non-human habitats. This context is retained throughout this study unless otherwise specified. 2010; Subong, 2011; Fernandez, 2011), and various problems and issues generated by a frantic disaster response. The disaster response was the more colorful part of the oil spill history and, fortunately, there was massive information available to shed light on the following questions: 1. Were the priority needs of the affected population satisfied? 2. What emerged as the prominent response? 3. What caused the prominent response? The next section discusses the sources of information of this study, the data collection, processing methods and certain limitations. The findings and analyses are discussed at length in the last section, which also incorporates the conclusion. Discussions begin with a brief recount of the incident and its impact, followed by a historical portrayal of the disaster response and the bundle of issues that emerged out of the extra responses. Foreign support is elaborated to emphasize that external entities had extensive footprint in on-going and planned activities. The final discussions are about the disaster analysis, the underlying forcing by global environmentalism, and the conclusion. In general, the disaster analysis reveals about the failed government action, the prominence of ~ a / Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 R. Balen 44 environmental efforts that focused on mangroves, the “dilution” of relief priorities, and other failed responses. An explanation follows about the success of global environmentalism as the underlying force of the disaster response. The conclusion wraps up with a few key points about the incident and a general sentiment about the visible impact of environmentalism in the Philippines in the light of strong government support. 2. Data and methods The oil spill incident coincided with the period of dramatic improvement in Philippine media capabilities brought about by maturing information technologies and intensifying applications. Particularly, radio and print media began webcasting, and government advisories were being posted online. Aided by the widespread use of cellular communication, the coverage of the incident turned remarkable.3 The daily news that was emanating from various print and online sources, radio, television and portable/digital gadgets allowed a multimedia mode of access that reduced reporting bias. Cross-referencing (validation) was simplified especially with assistance from ubiquitous media reporters. Therefore, to a large extent, a researcher could “observe” the events unfold through the media. It was further fortunate that the author was actually involved as consultant and public lecturer, thus knowledge acquired of the events was extensive from diverse interactions with media men, the active ecumenical group of the Archdiocese of Iloilo, concerned professionals, field workers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), legal aids, government officials, and relatives and victims from Guimaras. In particular, executives provided firsthand information about government plans and policy focus during consultations. Descriptive analysis was used in this study because copious factual accounts were available to answer the study questions. A combination of data acquisition techniques was employed: Convenience survey (interview method) was used to categorize the priority needs of the affected families of southern Guimaras. Similarly, a tally of the daily radio and television news topics was used to form the categories of the popular responses. The data was enriched with a document analysis of the print media, online materials, and accounts of contacts in the field. In the main, content mapping was utilized in analyzing the lavish information. This analytical technique helped the integration while substantially reducing the volume of irrelevant and duplicate information. Historical analysis was employed to find for the common disaster response during the 2005 (Semirara), 2006 (current) and 2013 (Estancia) oil spill incidents. This study adopted the position that the oil spill story must not be confined to official reports because many witnessed the incident and their number far exceeded those of government personnel in the field. However, this study could not also offer a total recount of the incident. The evolution of events was very fast, in a manner that the information generated was voluminous, frequently repetitive and, in some cases, varying inconsistently or unsettling. Indeed, selective gathering and analysis had to be imposed mindful of data consistency and reliability. Further, focus was delimited to the first 120 days of the incident because, thereafter, the general public interest on events was waning. Besides, the extensive research required had to be restrained by the author's resources. Lastly, damages compensation was actually the previous subject of this study because a need was identified of Guimaras claimants to deal with proscriptions against “intangibles” (IOPCF, 2005). Accordingly, a valuation method was developed from critical suggestions (Hausman, 1993; Diamond and Hausman, 1994; Bowers, 3 Filipinos are heavy users of mobile technologies. 1997) and the tenet that any objective method must avoid costing the complexity of the environment and the manner that it is utilized (Pearce and Moran, 1994). The product was an indigenous tool, which banked on verified (notarized) claimants data and a technique of grounding estimates via triangulation. Unfortunately, the equally interesting subject can no longer be discussed here inasmuch as damages claims had become a major issue of ligations. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. A synopsis of the incident and impact At about 4:00 pm on 11 August 2006 (Day1), the Depot Manager of PNOC4 at Iloilo City reported that Motor Tanker (MT) Solar I, manned by a crew of 20, capsized due to inclement weather and sea conditions, and it sank approximately 639 m deep, 24.6 km south of Lusacan Point in Guimaras island (122 29.15940 E,1015.51360 N). The 18-year old tanker was chartered by PNOC from Sunshine Maritime Development Corporation (SMDC) to transport 2,162,230 L of industrial fuel oil (IFO 217 intermediate bunker fuel oil) from Lamao, Bataan in Luzon to Zamboanga City in Mindanao. Two crewmembers were missing, and the tanker was already spilling more than 200,000 L of oil along a stretch of 7.5 km, although the path and the flow rate could not be determined. Within the next few days, similar accounts were repeatedly broadcasted through the media highlighting on the spread of oil emanating from the tanker. Soon, concern about the spill eclipsed the rescue operation and the incident investigation. A description of tanker characteristics, routes and other technical details about the incident can be found in a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) report by Olavario (2009). Portrayal of the oil spill impacts varied widely. Initial reports by the local media revealed that the spillage distressed 23,635 individuals (4727 families) (RDCC-6, 2006). Later field counts increased to 26,740 individuals (Burgos, 2007a). Soon thereafter, the oil spill was being depicted as a widespread devastation, not only to human population but to ecological habitats. On Day 18 (28 August 2006), the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), and the media reported a reduced impact to 17,435 individuals in 26 barangays in four of five municipalities. Eleven of said barangays were in the hardest hit municipality of Nueva Valencia, where oil contaminated 239 km of coastline comprising 1.8 km2 of terrestrial land, 9.6 km2 of brackish/marine waters of the Taklong Island National Marine Reserve (TINMAR),5 15.8 km2 of coral reefs, 1.0 km2 of mangroves, and 0.4 km2 of seaweed farms (UN-OCHA, 2006a). An additional stretch of 74 km covered 2.1 km2 of mangroves and 0.2 km2 of seaweed farms in the towns of Sibunag and San Lorenzo (Olavario, 2009). About a week thereafter (Day 26), UN-OCHA raised the number of affected barangays to 46, involving 30,780 individuals, and added to the list the towns of Buenavista, and Ajuy and Concepcion in Iloilo (recall Fig. 1). The added damages to Nueva Valencia, San Lorenzo and Sibunag in Guimaras and Ajuy in Iloilo involved 0.2 km2 of coral reefs, 8.2 km2 of mangroves and 8.2 km2 of fishponds. The total affected shoreline 4 The Philippine National Oil Company or Petron Corporation is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the country. Its 180,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery produces a full range of first-rate petroleum products supplying nearly 40% of the country's total fuel requirements. The company has over 2000 service stations nationwide and is the largest service station network retailing gasoline, diesel and kerosene to motorists (Petron Corporation, 2011). Notably, Petron is also 40% government-owned (40% by Aramco Overseas Company B.V. and 20% by 200,000 individual stockholders) (Petron Corporation, 2006). 5 TINMAR is a marine reserve, mainly of mangroves, comprising of 41 islets with an area of 11.4 km2. ~ a / Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 R. Balen 45 Fig. 2. Schematic of the disaster action plan discussed with the Governor and mayors of Iloilo Province on Day 11 (21 August 2006). The plan was envisioned to operate using field information gathered by media reporters and volunteers. Relief operation is the highest priority action followed by oil recovery/containment. Oil trajectory forecasts prompted executives to switch position to disaster preparation, identify “calamity areas,” and lobby for the immediate creation of a national task force. Task Force Guimaras soon formed on Day 13 (Olavario, 2009). was revised from 313 km to 245 km, but 39 more towns and cities in the provinces of Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental were reported as being threatened by the oil spill (UN-OCHA, 2006b). The many evolving narratives of the incident had the following uniform suggestions: a) The actual count of affected individuals was increasing, b) Nueva Valencia, the second most populous municipality in Guimaras (NSCB, 2014), sustained the worst impact affecting 12,600 individuals (2520 families in 11 of 58 barangays), or almost 40% of the town's population of 31,996 (RDCC-6, 2006; BFAR, 2005) and c) oil was continually leaking and spreading away from the sunken vessel. Consequently, it was believed that the oil spill was yet the worst environmental disaster of the country (Senate of the Philippines, 2006a,b; Puyat, 2010; Macairan, 2006a). 3.2. Of responders and responses Immediately on Day 2 (12 August 2006), the PCG activated its National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP).6 The next day (Day 3), the PCG conducted an aerial surveillance to confirm the oil spill and then deployed a vessel with MARPOL and OSRT capabilities.7 By Day 6 Later revised and promulgated in May 2008. MARPOL (Marine Pollution) is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, the treaty adopted by the International Maritime Organization or IMO in 1973 and updated in 1978 OSRT is short for Oil Spill Response Training. (http://www.dnv.com/industry/maritime/servicessolutions/statutoryservices/ marpol/). 4, the PCG had mobilized private contractors to the site of the incident (Olavario, 2009). The academe was likewise quick to act. The Oil Spill Program (OSP) was created by reactivating the same team that responded to the Semirara incident of 2005. Thus, similarly, the goal was to restore and improve the marine environment and coastal communities in the affected areas. Within Days 4e10, discussions were held with the University of the Philippines (UP) System (the only national university) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Immediately, site assessment of TINMAR was initiated, and by Day 11, project proposals were being generated as OSP partnered with DOST. Proposal preparations lasted until Day 17 (UPV Oil Spill Program, 2006a). Meanwhile, foreign and local entities, to include private contractors, were struggling with oil containment and cleanup, apart from those being led by PNOC (Petron Corporation, 2006). Yet, there was no realization that the spillage would spread westward across the Guimaras Strait, until the Provincial government of Iloilo called for a meeting on Day 11. The fortuitous gathering involving town mayors, other officials, PCG, professionals and media reporters helped shape the thrust of the disaster response for three pivotal reasons: First, forecasted threats of oil spill to Iloilo8 convinced executives to shift plans from giving aid to 7 8 Forecasts refer to pollutant trajectories simulated by the author's coastal circulation model developed as a DOST project in 1996 at the Ocean-Weather Laboratory, University of the Philippines Visayas, Iloilo, Philippines. 46 ~ a / Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 R. Balen Guimaras to disaster preparation, i.e. before oil reaches the shorelines of Iloilo. Vulnerable towns in Iloilo were promptly declared as “calamity areas.” Second, and more significant, the body lobbied for the immediate formation of a national task force (next). It was conceivable that both moves were directed at mobilizing for bigger contingency funds. Third, executives agreed to adopt a systematic action plan to effectively deal with the incident. The plan in Fig. 2, which also appeared in a popular newspaper (Panay News, 2006a), emphasized relief and oil recovery/containment operations as two priority actions that, if promptly pursued, could prevent the widespread consequences of the oil spill.9 On Day 13, indeed, NDCC created Task Force Guimaras to oversee the oil cleanup and retrieval of remaining oil from the sunken tanker.10 In particular, the mandate was to integrate the following tasks: strategic communications (led by NDCC), oil spill response operations (PCG and PNOC), retrieval of oil and sunken vessel (PNOC), investigation and policy reviews (Department of Transport and Communications or DOTC), mitigation and restoration of environment (Department of Environment and Natural Resources or DENR), early recovery and alternative livelihood (BFAR), reparation and compensation due to economic loss (PNOC), and request for international assistance (NDCC) (Olavario, 2009). Noticeably, none of the primary tasks was assigned to DOST being the science and technology agency. The government advanced $391.39T from donors to the provincial disaster coordinating councils (PDCCs) of Guimaras, Negros Occidental and Iloilo to augment their cleanup funds. In addition, a PCG Rear Admiral was ordered to lead the 11member Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI) to investigate the ~ o and sinking incident and determine culpability (Avendan Napallacan, 2006). Overall, it appeared that the necessary responses were covered, at least in principle. However, on Day 14, the government of Guimaras already threatened SMDC and PNOC with a class suit, demanding the re-floating of the tanker or suctioning of the remaining fuel and the shipping out of debris recovered from coastal cleanup (Pamonag, 2006). Apparently, therefore, NDCC acted late, notably, even on obtaining foreign assistance on the crucial oil recovery. On Day 16, the directives changed. The President declared the oil spill as a “national calamity,” calling on PNOC and SMDC to deal with the cleanup while Task Force Guimaras attend to environmental and health issues. The declaration was meant to address problems on a wider scope of prioritization, and this was necessary because the ramifications of the oil spill could not be ascertained for as long as the tanker was submerged. Any use of national government funds was said to be in the form of a cash advance ~ o and Napallacan, 2006). chargeable to PNOC and SMDC (Avendan The President further ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to lead the investigation of the liability of PNOC and SDMC (Romero, 2006). Unfortunately, it became apparent that the succeeding efforts would be remedial in nature. On Day 18, the Philippine Senate activated its Oversight Committee to conduct a parallel investigation of the incident (Senate of the Philippines, 2006a). The Committee aimed at consolidating the bills on anti-marine pollution and creating an oil spill liability fund. Thus, compliance was laid to the 1992 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation on Oil Pollution Damage, particularly, to the provisions of the “Ship 9 The plan was also sent on request to The Hon. Secretary of DOE, who led the initial government delegation in Guimaras. 10 After about a year of existence, Task Force Guimaras was abolished on 09 August 2007 (its functions subsumed by the NDCC) by virtue of Administrative Order 191 of the Philippine President. The length of service suggests that problems in the field lasted for a considerable time. Pollution Prevention Act of 2006” regarding the creation of an Oil Spill Liability Fund for cleanup and damages claims. As required by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), single hull tankers were to be phased out starting 2015 (Senate of the Philippines, 2006b). (Much later, on 02 June 2007, the Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007 [RA9483] was passed to impose strict liability for oil pollution damage and facilitate prompt compensation using Regional Trial Courts (Congress of the Philippines, 2007).) Meanwhile, on the same day, the OSP presented its initial assessment to the Philippine President and immediately secured approval of its rapid assessment research and 10-year research and monitoring program. (After a second meeting with the President on Day 27, funds from the UP System began to arrive on Day 39 (UPV Oil Spill Program, 2006a,b)). The OSP program proponent was aptly designated to head the science-based response of Task Force Guimaras. The OSP was presumably the earliest official scienceacademe response to the incident and, remarkably, its long-term research was approved within only a week of the incident. On Day 19, the Guimaras government ordered the evacuation of residents from three southern barangays (Cabalagnan, La Paz, and Tando). The memorandum order was based on the study by the Department of Health (DOH) and the UP National Poison Management and Control Center, which found high levels of hydrogen sulfide, a highly toxic gas that already downed 29 people, including four children, in the polluted areas (Rivera and DalanginFernandez, 2006). (The evacuation order to 10 badly hit coastal villages was lifted only on Day 90 (Laude, 2006).) On Day 27, during the second visit to Guimaras, the President chaired the NDCC, resulting to a comprehensive update of the incident. The Office of Civil Defense (head of NDCC), collated the following data from RDCC-6, Guimaras PDCC, DOH, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), PNOC, BFAR, DENR, PCG and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) (Rabonza, 2006): The total affected areas currently stood at 59 barangays involving 39,004 individuals in all five towns of Guimaras plus the towns of Ajuy and Concepcion in Iloilo. More towns (38) remained under threat-1 in Guimaras, 16 in Iloilo and 21 in Negros Occidental. There were already 607 individuals in eight evacuation centers, apart from those who opted to stay with relatives. The affected ecosystems, within a coastal stretch of 234.84 km, comprised of 15.8 km2 of coral reefs, 5.53 km2 of mangroves, 0.58 km2 of seaweeds, 8.24 km2 of fishponds and 11.43 km2 of the DENR marine reserve, mainly, the TINMAR. DENR's rapid assessment of the loss from the 3.67 km2 area of Nueva Valencia alone amounted to $20.92T. Thus, assuming uniform pricing of habitats, the overall affected area of about 41.58 km2 suffered a loss of $237.06T. The NDCC report as of Day 29 completed the scenario of the national disaster response (Rabonza, 2006). The Council pursued the following action points: a) complete the cleanup, b) recover oil in the sunken vessel, c) continue cash-for-work (CFW) program, doubling the daily workers to 1,700, d) continue the scientific response by the DOST, the academe, and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), e) complete rehabilitation plans in the island, f) DSWD and PDCC will develop the economic plans, f) DOH will monitor and treat oil spill related symptoms and diseases, g) IOPCF will cover damage to property, profit losses, rehabilitation of the affected areas, and cleanup expenditures, and h) pass a bill on environmental protection vis- a-vis oil spills. Details of the relevant activities can be found in separate PNOC and IOPCF reports (Petron Corporation, 2006; IOPCF, 2007). Moreover, aside from government sites, numerous side accounts are compiled online, e.g. at http:// sludge.wordpress.com/. By Day 39, the oil containment effort had formally failed. The PCG made the announcement citing reasons that the leak from the sunken tanker had not been determined. Moreover, the seas were ~ a / Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 R. Balen reportedly rough and the area too large for the effective use of spill booms, which were also inadequate for the purpose. Hence, in a last-ditch effort to contain the spread of oil, the agency, aided by private contractors, resorted (again) to spraying large amounts of chemical dispersants. Spraying was continuous during daytime and was deemed as the only recourse that could help keep the oil from reaching the shoreline (Romero, 2006). Finally, on Day 68, Republic Act 9358 was approved granting a huge sum of $16.97M (₱867.40M) for the rehabilitation and livelihood projects, in decreasing amounts11: $4.89M each for the LGUs and DSWD, $2.54M for DENR, $1.96M for DA, $1.28M for other agencies, $0.98M for UP, and $0.43M for DOH (Congress of the Philippines, 2006). Immediately noticeable is the relatively low budget for human health. For instance, in contrast, the much larger DENR and UP funds of $3.52M was earmarked for restoration and rehabilitation of natural coastal resources. Funds had not been actually released as of 14 December 2006 (Alberto, 2006). However, from barely a quarter of the calamity funds released in 2007, the largest chunk was still dedicated to research activities (Burgos, 2007a,b, 2008; Olavario, 2009). In fact, succeeding releases till 2009, the “national government calamity fund for the rehabilitation of Guimaras and Iloilo,” were actually spent on rehabilitating the mangroves in so-called “eco parks” (Business Mirror, 2009). On top of these was the hint to prolong research studies because experts predicted the recovery of contaminated marine life to last for 10e20 years (Burgos, 2007c; Romero, 2006).12 Therefore, it was already perceptible that the disaster response would cater to environmentalism, and on a long-term basis. Indeed, the following month (Day 109e110), PNOC held a twoday “Scientific Conference” in Iloilo City.13 Supported by WWF, the academe, NDCC and Task Force SOS, and attended by a hundred scientists from all over the country, the big meeting aimed at restoring and rehabilitating the environment and human communities and finalizing a contingency protocol (Petron Corporation, 2006; UPViews, 2006). Two resolutions are discernible: 1) focus on environmental concerns and 2) another protocol (besides the NOSCP) incorporating these concerns. It was unclear how these reflected on the NDCC, Task Force Guimaras (created by NDCC) and especially PCG, which was concurrently implementing an existing protocol. On Day 217 (15 March 2007), about seven months after the sinking incident, and after two failed negotiations with the Norwegian and Singaporean firms, oil was finally siphoned from the sunken tanker by the Italian firm Sonsub, which was contracted by SMDC insurers for a 20-day operation at a cost of $6M. The much awaited recovery operation, urged nearly a year ago on Day 11 (recall Fig. 2), happened too late for its purpose. Nevertheless, PNOC had hoped for the outcome to ease down apprehensions in the region (Yahoo News, 2007). 11 In October 2006, the Philippine Senate approved a ₱1.2B supplemental budget for 2007 to be used in the rehabilitation. A conversion rate of ₱51.1 ¼ US$1 is used throughout this study (Asian Development Outlook, 2009), which is comparable to the rate used by the United Nations of ₱53.3 ¼ $1 (UN-OCHA, 2006a). The insurer, IOPCF, adopted a lower exchange rate of ₱41.76 ¼ $1 on 31 December 2007 (IOPCF, 2007). 12 The 5-year research program on oil spill impact (UPV-OSP) was planned to end in 2012 (Ramirez, 2007). Apparently, experts revised their prediction because, within a year, they found that the mangroves were largely unharmed and recovering naturally (Yender and Lloyd, 2008). 13 PNOC being the owner of the oil cargo “immediately took the responsibility for restoring the island to its condition Prior to the incident,” led the oil cleanup and CFW, educational and several livelihood programs, and even sponsored the big scientific conference (Petron Corporation, 2006). PNOC was frequently in the daily news. 47 3.3. On external response Local responders had extensive external assistance. At different times during the incident, foreign entities extended help to both the beleaguered government and population of Guimaras. Notably, the major responders were also influential environment advocates, and they were extensively involved in the incident. Foreign intervention further proved the country's helplessness against maritime disasters (Senate of the Philippines, 2006c). On Day 7, SMDC's foreign insurer sent two British oil experts to conduct an aerial survey of the extent of oil pollution (Aglionby, 2006). On Day 13, a four-man team from the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) arrived to determine the exact location of the tanker and evaluate possible forms of assistance (Nito, 2006). Eventually, on Day 23, the Japanese remotely-operated vehicle, Shinsei Maru, located the sunken tanker. The PCG announced that no bodies were found, the oil release was minor, and oil sheen spanned only1.5 km from the tanker. Task Force Guimaras met with Norwegian underwater experts to prepare for recommendations to NDCC (Rabonza, 2006). The Japanese Coast Guard and Maritime Disaster Prevent Center likewise dispatched a team to conduct assessment and offer recommendations (UN-OCHA, 2006a). WWF, a global environment foundation, was extensively involved in marine work with PNOC, the Department of Energy (DOE), DENR, PCG, LGUs, NGOs, communities, and academic institutions. News about WWF was sporadic, although its involvement encompassed a variety of activities: rapid damage assessment of Guimaras, the process to draw up, fund, implement and monitor medium-term rehabilitation and livelihood initiatives, and the promotion of prevention-related future options including, but not limited to, routes of hazardous cargo, enhancement of response at key local sites and the establishment of a new trust fund that will be contributed into by oil companies for quick response to oil spills covering expenses beyond insurance. The Foundation's GIS unit processed near real-time satellite data for national decision makers. Additionally, the Foundation was exploring front line alliances with the Red Cross and Save the Children (UN-OCHA, 2006a). On Day 9, Greenpeace's ship, M/Y Esperanza, en route to its “Defending the Oceans” world tour, upon request by the PCG, made a 3-day side trip to Iloilo to help transport donated relief goods and oil containment equipment and join the visual survey. The pressure group also organized volunteers and worked with marine ecologists on oil impact especially to sanctuaries and coastal ecosystems (Macairan, 2006a). Notably, the group advocated the use of hair and chicken feathers as oil absorbents via the slogan “hair cut today could save the environment tomorrow” (Macairan, 2006a). Philippine authorities, notably the city government of Manila, made repeated appeals to the public to donate the recommended materials. Public response was enthusiastic from, among others, barber shops, beauty salons, markets, inmates, young students, a hairdressers' association and a beverage company (MSNBC.com News Services, 2006; Macairan, 2006b). The UNDP secured $100T for CFW/food-for-work and damage assessment. It provided technical assistance to PCG on the cleanup and to DENR on consolidating damage claims and the rehabilitation of ecosystems (UN-OCHA, 2006a). A UNDP assessment team was also working alongside with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). UNDP helped review alternative livelihood support, while UNICEF distributed emergency health kits, drugs, waterpurifying tablets and tarpaulins to evacuees (UN-OCHA, 2006b). The UN-OCHA Joint Environmental Unit and UNOSAT triggered the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters permitting the collection and dissemination of satellite images of the disaster area. UNOSAT monitored the oil slick via satellite and produced the first 48 ~ a / Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 R. Balen image of the oil spill on Day 14. Thereafter, images were issued to national authorities, stakeholders and donors (UN-OCHA, 2006a). The IMO, through the Partnerships for Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (a $16M UNDP program) helped provide information and technical assistance related to oil containment and cleanup. The Food and Agricultural Organization offered to hire a consultant to conduct initial assessment, particularly, on rehabilitation and livelihood strategies (UN-OCHA, 2006a,b). The various activities of UN agencies and programs were rarely heard and mainly circulated thru official consular reports which, occasionally, appeared online. 3.4. Pandora's box of issues Indeed, the disaster response was colorful. For one, issues emerged almost simultaneously with every form of response. Eventually, the mismatch between the priority needs of the victims and the many responses stacked more problems and issues on top of the on-going disaster. A rundown of these issues will help portray the chaos (see also Table 1). The oil spill was not exactly as told by authorities. Their optimistic reports tended to mask the impacts of the incident creating suspicions including media bribe (Delilan, 2006; Gomez, 2006). There were apprehensions of a gag order to control the situation especially that the publicized release of conflicting information interfered with on-going efforts on rehabilitation and eco-tourism. Consequently, the RDCCs were barred from issuing statements about the oil spill, a decision thought of as ill-advised and only exacerbated fears and the prevailing negative public perception. In particular, the PCG, a working agency in the field, was precluded from issuing updates, the task subsumed instead by the NDCC (Espina, 2006a; Manila Standard Today, 2006; Guinto, 2006). On top of this predicament, politics were hampering the relief operations (Sinay, 2006b). Controversies arose from the cleanup, containment and recovery operations. Hair and feathers were already being utilized in oil spill booms as advocated by Greenpeace, and DOST's reaction was to Table 1 The more prominent responders and the issues, listed chronologically as they, more or less, first appeared in the news (Day 1 refers to the tanker incident of 11 August 2006). The chaotic situation is evidenced by the preponderance of issues (not necessarily in direct correspondence with the responders). Note that the responses were only more frequent during the first two weeks of the incident. The specific law on damages claims was enacted nearly a year thereafter on Day 295. The aftermath of lingering issues on litigations, irregularities and continuing (long-term) research projects indicates that the affected population remained indefinitely as the victims. Due to ambiguous dates, among others, the DOH, private donors, international donors and responders, and the litigations are excluded from the list. Responders PNOC, media PCG Academe (OSP, research proposal), private contractors (cleanup) SDMC insurer (survey assistance from foreign experts) Iloilo Province (the crucial meeting), DOST-Academe (partnership) NDCC (Task Force Guimaras) Guimaras Province (class suit) Day 1 2 4 7 9 11 13 14 15 President (first field visit, “National Calamity,” change of directives) Senate (parallel probe) 16 18 Guimaras Province (evacuation) 19 22 President (second field visit, NDCC official update) 27 28 29 30 32 33 PCG (declares failed oil containment); UP system (funds OSP) Congress (2006 supplemental appropriation-₱867.40M) PNOC (big conference) SDMC (contracts Italian firm to siphon oil) Congress (Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007) 39 68 102 106 109 111 159 196 217 218 295 363 478 Beyond Issues oil spillage and cleanup issues some aids divert to unaffected areas proposals for research projects WWF condemns dispersants authorities confiscate PNOC power sprayers government realizes oil spill threat to Iloilo late action; foreign aid on oil recovery wanting government threatens to sue SMDC and PNOC criticism of mangroves cleanup; Senate finds irregularities on tanker/crew, PNOC, SDMC, MARINA; sluggish action on oil leakage oil spill publicity escalates “hairy” solution and DOST criticized; Petron is 40% government-owned; Semirara oil spill investigators criticize MARINA and PCG high levels of hydrogen sulfide cause evacuations politics/control of reliefs and operations; early practical advice-humans over research activites President, PNOC (optimitic declarations) news of media bribe; sluggish government action on tanker recovery; PNOC denies bribing media gag order; barring of PCG and RDCCs; government denies media bribe; questions on PNOC's commitment sluggish government action on cleanup; lawmaker criticizes the sluggish ₱2B release PNOC hires laborers directly; distribution of CFW funds; channeling of funds irks Guimaras government Guimaras Province halts manual cleanup by affected residents, demands for gears; high official claims minimal leaks dispersants as PCG last-ditch effort; oil containment and anomaly; rumor-mongering “wrestle” for the big funds barge carrying last batch of oiled debris sinks PNOC denies hiring sunken barge “experts” still clueless on costing damages Guimaras Governor makes known his separate plans for his province 12-week time frame of payments by IOPCF ₱800M for rehabilitation wanting; Guimaras still awaits funds for rehabilitation (Norwegian then Singaporean transactions fail) Italian firm finally siphons oil from sunken tanker, recovers barely 0.5% of oil cargo the law late and ineffective (even in the case of the next 2013 Estancia oil spill); many other relevant laws exist, but not only applied payments of damages claims; doubtful claims; payment biases and conflicts IOPCF rejects 80.63% of claims application; of the total ₱908M compensation-80.88% goes to mangroves and reservation areas, only 0.31% to human victims litigations; news of irregularities; long-term research projects continues ~ a / Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 R. Balen dispose of the same through burning as alternative fuel (Romero, 2006). Although public response to Greenpeace's “hair” campaign slogan was phenomenal, eventually, the “hairy” idea (Macairan, 2006a,b; MSNBC.com News Services, 2006) was widely criticized due to the non-biodegradability of the materials, plus the foul smell that they generate when incinerated. Meanwhile, after weeks of spraying oiled waters with dispersants, more influential nonprofits like WWF questioned the PCG and PNOC about the hazards posed by their cleanup method to human health and the environment (e.g. Yan, 2006). Cautioned by the findings of Silliman University against the use of chemicals in cleanup, DOST echoed the hazards associated with dispersants (Flores, 2006). Eventually, responding to widening protests, law enforcement agencies began confiscating PNOC's power sprayers (Sinay, 2006a). By Day 33, the Guimaras government also halted the manual cleanup by 1459 residents of 11 affected coastal villages, demanding that PNOC must provide first for the protective gears prescribed by DOH (Burgos, 2006a). Regarding oil recovery, public unrest and apprehension of leaks from the unrecovered tanker were being confounded by inconsistent scientific claims on the degree of oil impact to habitats, for instance, a high official's claim of a reduced leak (5 L/h) based only on a robotic survey (Espina, 2006b). The unrelenting clamors for the unconditional removal of the vessel directly contradicted PNOC's pronouncements that the worst was over (Gomez, 2006). There were still issues on what method to use: siphoning, re-floating of the tanker, or cementing it to its current location (Espina, 2006c). In fact, the recovery effort began already five months into the incident and with much difficulty-two failed transactions with a Norwegian and ~ o, 2006) before an Italian firm then Singaporean companies (Grin siphoned the remaining oil from the tanker (Yahoo News, 2007). At last, only 9 m3 (9000 L) of oil was recovered, i.e. barely 0.5% of the tanker cargo (Gomez and Burgos, 2007; Olavario, 2009). Regardless, PNOC announced that it was already completing the second phase of its cleanup, which was to ferry out the collected oiled debris ~ o, 2006; Solinap, 2006). Then, suddenly, another bad luck-On (Grin Day 102 (20 November 2006), the barge carrying the last 59,000 sacks of debris sank (5 km off Misamis Oriental). PNOC denied hiring the barge (Philippine Star, 2006), which allegedly sailed against PCG advice (Bondoc, 2006), but it appeared that the country's attempt at mitigating its worst environmental disaster already spawned another catastrophe of its own (Mariano, 2006). Indeed, oil spills kept occurring, one after another, as if there were no lessons learned (Ombion and Lachica, 2006; Salamat, 2013). Furthermore, on the cleanup, PNOC's financial help to Guimaras was not being channeled through the provincial administration but elsewhere, through other agencies like DSWD and DOH. PNOC likewise directly hired daily laborers to clean the beaches and also paid them directly. These protocols were perceived as humiliating yet, on one hand, and any delay on assistance also spawned suspicions of bribery (Panay News, 2006b). A circulating suspicion was that matters could not be sorted out because the government owns 40% of PNOC's assets (Petron Corporation, 2006; Romero, 2006). PNOC's commitment to help the victims and rehabilitate Guimaras was finally questioned (Panay News, 2006c). Even the probes into the incident were laden with issues. Summing up the Senate press release of Day 15 (25 August 2006): The tanker was overloaded at the time of the incident. The captain of the vessel did not have a safety training certificate; the same was suspected of his crew. These were not revealed either by SMDC (ship owner) or PNOC (cargo owner). As the agency (under DOTC) that oversees the development, promotion and regulation of the maritime industry in the country, the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) was aware that MT Solar 1 was an aging converted vessel, initially a tanker in 1988 that changed names and classification several times ever since. Further, the tanker was one of three 49 vessels acquired in 2001, only a year after SMDC was incorporated; thus, it was puzzling how a corporation with a paid up capital of only $0.20M acquired all three vessels. Another body must assume the investigation because, by allowing the registration of a badly modified vessel, MARINA cannot remain as the investigator, judge and executioner at the same time.14 “Floating coffins” could still be sailing the Philippine waters; the incident was abetted by neglect and corruption, the worst kind in the world (Senate of the Philippines, 2006a). A history of the formal complaints is logged in Philippine Senate Resolution 138 (Senate of the Philippines, 2007). Notably, three cabinet secretaries (DND, DENR and DOTC) did not appear in the Senate hearing of 28 August 2006 until threatened by arrest (Labog-Javellana, 2006). In addition, by Day 18, the same team that investigated the 2005 Semirara oil spill concluded about the lack of preparedness and limited capability of government agencies in dealing with major oil spills. In particular, MARINA and PCG failed to anticipate better measures since the Semirara incident (Senate of the Philippines, 2006b). In general, it was unclear how the promulgated law, the Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007, actually worked, even in the case of the more recent incident in Estancia, which sustained damages due to 200,000 L of oil spilled from the National Power Barge at the height of typhoon Yolanda (Burgos, 2013). In fact, there was no dearth of pollution laws prior to the Guimaras incident,15 notably, the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (RA9275) and the Marine Pollution Decree of 1976 (PD979), which deals specifically with marine pollution. Certainly, there were criticisms of scientific and political nature, particularly, regarding the excessive attention on mangroves. Only a week after the incident, among others, a rehabilitation expert already ridiculed the cleaning of mangroves as a waste of time because they act as natural traps and filters of pollutants, and no amount of cleansing could bring oil-covered trees back to life (Villa, 2006). Apparently, the clamors were disregarded, and the scientific conference of November 2006 continued pushing for rapid habitat assessment and rehabilitation (UPViews, 2006). Yet, banking on 101 experts, 180 stakeholders, 43 paper presentations, and all the assessments reports to include those prepared by DENR, BFAR and the universities (Rivera, 2006), still the big meeting could not solve its puzzle: experts were still “clueless” and groping for the actual damage and cost of rehabilitation. The Guimaras Governor was not around during the press meeting and alleged to have separate plans for his province, which could just be “enriched by the scientific data” (Angelo, 2006). A range of political/legal issues already emerged including the competition and control of relief operations (Sinay, 2006b), distribution of CFW funds (Panay News, 2006b), oil spill publicity (Villanueva, 2006; Dalipe, 2006; Galford, 2006; Guinto, 2006), “oil spill fund” anomaly (Hibionada, 2009), “rumor-mongering” (Balnig, 2006), delayed release of $15.66M rehabilitation funds16 (Espina, 2007), and even the diversion of funds to unaffected areas (Burgos, 2006b). In fact, within a month of the incident, many sectors were already clamoring about the snail-paced government action especially on the oil leakage and 14 The deputy administrator of MARINA was also Vice Chair of the PCG's SBMI. The 11-member SBMI was chaired by the PCG and had as representatives the Philippine Ports Authority, the Professional Regulation Commission, master mariners, chief ~ o and Salaverria, 2006). engineers and lawyers (Avendan 15 Among other relevant laws: PD 1067 (Water Code), PD 856 (Sanitation Code), RA 6969 (Toxic Substances and Hazardous Waste Act), RA 8749 (Clean Air Act), RA 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act), PD 1151 (Philippine Environmental Policy of 1977), RA 7586 (National Integrated Protected Areas System Act), and RA 8550 (Philippine Fisheries Code). 16 The equivalent of about ₱800M and which could be alluding to the more accurate figure by the Congress of the Philippines (2006) of ₱867.40M or $16.97M. 50 ~ a / Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 R. Balen human sufferings (ABS-CBN News, 2006; Ho et al., 2006; Espina, 2006c). A lawmaker complained of the slow implementation of the 2007 national supplemental budget of $39.14M, supposedly for the Guimaras population and the rehabilitation of ravaged areas (Dalipe, 2006). Particularly, the Guimaras administration was waiting for the release of $15.66M promised for the rehabilitation (Espina, 2007). The plethora of political and environmental issues already eclipsed the plight of the real victims of the catastrophe (Panay News, 2006d). Meantime, thousands of residents were demanding for damages compensation (Sinay, 2007a,b). However, there was no livelihood plan or any alternative agenda on lost incomes. A method of costing damages appeared only a year after the incident (Ramirez, 2007) and without indications that it actually found use in claims settlement. Consequently, desperate claimants embraced prevailing offers (Sinay, 2007a,b), a recourse that encouraged biases and further conflicts in payments. Other issues involved the case of non-fishermen victims, the inadmissibility of “intangibles,” and the 12-week time frame adopted by IOPCF in estimating lost incomes (Panay News, 2007). These worsened by 31 December 2007, when the IOPCF rejected 80.63% of the total 146,280 claims applications. Further, of the 28,339 approved cases, 98% was strictly limited to fishing (capture fisheries, mariculture, and paraphernalia) and only 2% to relief assistance, which was further restricted to 5400 most adversely affected households. Overall, direct human assistance consumed only 0.31% of the total compensation of $17.77M (₱908.12M), in startling contrast to the huge 80.88% that was spent on cleaning the mangroves and reservation areas (IOPCF, 2007, p. 106e115; Sinay, 2007a). Hundreds of disgruntled victims opted for litigation. Finally, adding complications, foreigners intervened in or dabbled with internal affairs. In particular, the so-called “international advisors” went to the extent of downplaying the roles of the local DOH and the media (Yender and Lloyd, 2008) that were, in fact, much earlier on the scene and more directly in touch with the affected population. Further, undisputed, influential environment groups left extensive imprints on the overall disaster response (cf. UN-OCHA, 2006a). On the other hand, certain allegations were categorically denied citing the possibility of misinterpreting reports or simply because the net consequence of conflicting reports were no longer painting a positive picture of the recovery of Guimaras (Delilan, 2006; Legaspi, 2006; Manila Standard Today, 2006). 3.5. A disaster analysis Two priority actions are imperative at the onset of an oil spill: relief and oil recovery operations (recall Fig. 2). Relief operation is necessary by the time the news scare of an oil catastrophe begins disrupting people's livelihood. The response becomes critical if oil spillage is not promptly contained. Certainly, recovery operation is most crucial because, once it fails, containment will turn increasingly difficult. Neither of the crucial responses was successfully implemented in the case of Guimaras. Yet, the literature is replete with protocols built from a history of more than a hundred oil spill cases, about a dozen of which have been dubbed as “large” events. NOAA alone has comprehensive online guides (plus links) on disaster response (Jeansonne, 2010). The PCG promptly activated NOSCP on Day 2, surveyed the area on Day 3, and immediately sent out a MARPOL and OSRT capable vessel to contain the spill. Unfortunately, the necessary tools, materials and supplies were inadequate, the reason why private contractors were also mobilized to the incident area. It could be that the magnitude of spillage was not anticipated but, in either case, some knowledge of oil trajectories was indispensable in tracking the movement of pollutants, before they landed onshore. Ironically, the Iloilo provincial government finally learned about early trajectory forecasts, but it was already Day 11. By then, powered by wind-driven currents, the spillage had begun to contaminate the Guimaras coastlines and threatened to cross the channel towards Iloilo. Simply, the government response was late, and it remains a puzzle why obtaining foreign assistance to promptly contain the spillage was late as well. Indeed, Task Force Guimaras only formed on Day 13. By Day 16, when a “national calamity” was declared, there was already the admission that the oil spill impacts could not be ascertained because the vessel was still under sea. This was seconded on Day 39, when the PCG conceded failure of containing the spillage for reasons that the leak had not also been clarified. In short, the spillage was already unstoppable. Indeed, oil retrieval materialized only in 2007; it was no longer of any consequence to the pollution problem other than to insinuate that most of the oil in the tanker was already gone. The crucial science input, e.g. oil trajectory forecasts, was wanting. Yet, experts swiftly catered to assessment studies and habitat (mangrove) rehabilitation. In effect, public attention detoured from the relief operations. Thus, though the needs of the victims were mandated of Task Force Guimaras, in reality, the relief efforts were turning inadequate. The task force itself was not only late on the scene, but it was also redirected to refocus on cleanup, mainly, of oiled mangrove areas. On top of the predicament, influential environmentoriented entities were applying pressures, interventions, and they were extensively involved in both ground activities and top policy decisions. While helpful, foreign assistance was, at the same time, a complication to the overall disaster response. The emergent policy focus was made apparent when Republic Act 9358 spelled out the budget allocations-in essence, human victims had to share the big funds with habitat rehabilitation. Thus, the disaster response officially acquired an environment thrust that was high priority and, worse, persistent and lasting. Indeed, a cursory historical analysis of three consecutive oil spill incidents, the Semirara incident of 2005 (Magramo, 2007), Guimaras of 2006 and Estancia of 2013 (e.g. Burgos, 2013), revealed that mangroves have consistently been a focal point, remarkably, even amidst the vastly catastrophic typhoon Yolanda in 2013 (USAID, 2014). There were non-trivial contraindications to mangrove rehabilitation. First, a scientific uncertainty occurred that already obliged Task Force Guimaras to suspend cleanups for at least three months just to give time for debating parties to determine the safest method of mangrove decontamination (Labiste, 2006). Second, paradoxically, by 2007, little cleanup actually happened because monitoring by experts revealed that the mangroves were recovering naturally with minor mortality (less than 1.5% or ~510 trees). The mortality further decreased to only 0.168% by October 2007 (Ramirez, 2007). Thus, the hysteric cleanup died down with the realization that the mangroves were not truly a matter of prime exigency (cf. Villa, 2006). Third, the mangrove experts and international advisors concurred that monitoring and natural recovery was the best response strategy for oiled mangroves, followed by restoration, if needed (Yender and Lloyd, 2008), coincidentally, repeating the advice given only weeks of the tanker incident (Panay News, 2006a,d): “… a common sense approach … Just clean enough, and allow some mangroves to die if they must e they have served their good purposes … allow nature to do the rest of your job … afterwards, when there is an opportunity, plant new trees …” It was ironical that an old advice found use a month ahead of the formal protocols on assessments, monitoring and rehabilitation ~ a / Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 R. Balen (Yender and Lloyd, 2008; NDCC, 2006). Finally, the disappointing indication was that the many experts of the national conference went home “clueless” about the damages and cost of rehabilitation (Angelo, 2006; Rivera, 2006; UPViews, 2006). Their “cluelessness” was a vital cue for re-thinking actions but, apparently, it was ignored. Two years later, the dusts cleared showing an enduring dismal condition. First, the water conditions were still far from normal: The averaged oil concentration of 31.54 mg/l at 13 coastal stations in August 2006 decreased to 9.45 mg/l (30% of previous value), as measured at 11 stations in MayeJune 2008 (Lipayon, 2008).17 Only one station registered a near normal value of 2 mg/l to 3 mg/l (6.3e9.5%) (EMB, 1990, 2006). Traces of oil were still visible in several places as evidenced by residual hydrocarbons (Pahila et al., 2010) and biota indicators (Subong, 2011). Non-normal conditions persisted for another three years (Fernandez, 2011). Second, the PCG recovered barely 0.5% of the oil cargo (Gomez and Burgos, 2007), yet the costly recovery operation (Petron Corporation, 2006) did not confirm the details of the spillage. Finally, according to PNOC, payments for Guimaras claimants were made in March 2007 and partially for Iloilo claimants in the second week of April 2007 (Petron Corporation, 2006). However, these did not cause relief on the part of claimants. Stressing government neglect, an exasperated priest exclaimed (Sinay, 2007a), “From the beginning, I know these people (from the IOPCF) will never compensate … maximum amount. They haggled to the lowest bargain until we just collapse in exasperation.” In startling contrast, in January 2007, P105M of PNOC's P122M expenses as of 31 December 2006 was already refunded by IOPCF.18 People were dismayed that the rehabilitation efforts did nothing to the affected population any more than the mangroves (cf. Punongbayan, 2010; Reyes et al., 2010). It is mind-boggling, but the priority response to the disaster was no longer about people but mainly about eco-tourism and marine life. The hapless victims were riddled by more issues than when the incident started. Life according to the victims will never be the same (Alimen and Alimen, 2013). Two simple surveys will clarify the relationship between priority needs and disaster response. The data in Fig. 3 were obtained from 89 informants, turned interview respondents, who were asked to list down the priority needs of affected families in Guimaras. A total enumeration of 414 formed the basis of categorization. The priority needs fall under eight categories and are basic in nature. Within a week of the incident, field reports were still describing more coherently about the basic needs being also the regular topics of radio and television newscasts. Small individual donors were particularly attentive to these, as they offered hints of what could serve as useful donations. Mainly, the needs of the victims resulted from the disruption of their means of livelihood (economic dislocation), jointly caused by pollution of the coasts and the scare created by the rapidly spreading news of devastation. In similar manner, other means of livelihood were disrupted, including those not directly dependent on the coastal resources. Moreover, because the oil pollutants and associated fumes were considered as health hazards, health threats obliged the massive evacuation of the affected families (physical dislocation), creating a new set of needs. On the other hand, Fig. 4 shows the result of the news survey of the corresponding disaster response. A total tally (338) was made of the daily radio 17 Official measurements were conducted by the Laboratory Services Section of the Environmental Management Bureau of DENR. 18 PNOC filed a total claim of ₱188M against the IOPCF (Petron Corporation, 2006). 51 Fig. 3. The 8 priority needs of the affected families in Guimaras as determined from a chance interview of 89 informants. The respondents gave an average maximum of 4 enumerations. Plotted categories are percentages of the total 414 enumerations. The priority needs of the affected families are basic with relief items being the topmost priority. and television news topics for the period from Day 4 to Day 39, and the data was utilized to establish the response categories. The bar charts were artificially scaled to match the earlier figure for direct comparisons. Immediately noticeable in Figs. 3 and 4 is the fact that the priority needs (8) were matched by responses, only that there were far more responses (22) than absolutely needed. This situation “diluted” the priority response as shown by the decimation of percentages originally assigned to priority needs into other “less priority” needs. The categories on “Scientific/Technical Activities” and “Popular Controversies” are among those that significantly consumed the redistributed percentages. In effect, therefore, the disaster response shifted from the basic needs towards scientific and other concerns that were, in fact, predominantly about the environment. Fig. 4. The 22 forms of disaster response derived from a daily log of 338 news topics aired over 3 radio and 1 television stations for the period from Day 4 to Day 39. Plotted values (%) were artificially nudged by a factor of 1.22 in order to match those in Fig. 3. Nudging allowed a direct comparison of the two sets of bar charts without distorting the essential information from the data. Note the correspondence of the lower bar charts in the two figures. However, relief items are no longer the topmost priority. Several other priorities emerged, notably, “Scientific/Technical Activities.” 52 ~ a / Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 R. Balen 3.6. Forcing by global environmentalism Thanks to global warming,19 the costliest and most controversial issue of all time (e.g. Weart, 2003), voluminous materials now exist elucidating on the various facets of environment advocacy, which underlay the Guimaras oil spill response. Mainly espoused by international and local organizations, or nonprofits, environmental crusades apply relentless pressures on governments to take proactive actions against unknown e versus actual e dangers to the environment which, in the case of global warming, are depicted as impending worldwide holocausts. Worse, humans are being blamed as culprits (e.g. Snodgrass, 2012). Environmentalism is an overpowering foreign imposition that has been shown to impact the Philippine society mainly because of ini~ a, tiatives from key sectors-the government and intellectuals (Balen 2012). Success is reflected in no less than Republic Act 9512 s.2008 (Environment Awareness and Education Act of 2008), which stipulates “the vital roles of the Filipino youth and environmental awareness and education in national development” (Congress of the Philippines, 2008). But with success comes adversity. In the case of climate change advocacy, Republic Act 9729 s.2009 (Climate Change Act of 2009) quickly followed mandating the incorporation of climate change in children's curricula (Congress of the Philippines, 2009). This was in accord with Agenda 21 of the United Nations but, sadly, not with reality. For one, elementary educators are non-specialists and ill~ a, 2012; cf. prepared to teach the subject to young children (Balen Michaels, 2007, p. 22). More worrisome is the impact of highly controversial ideas. Strong countries like Britain had successfully shielded their young from the negative facet of propaganda, but the same is being securely entrenched in the Philippines (cf. The Lord Monckton Foundation, 2012; Dimmock v. Secretary of State for Education and Skills, 2007; Sheppard, 2009). Nonprofits are conceivably for good purposes, yet many are aggressive influencers of environmentalism, and they are not exempt from criticisms (ADB, 2007; Fortes, 2000; Riedmiller, 2000; Wiener, 2000; Gomez, 1999; Edwards, 1998). A major concern is that they are hardly scrutinized and that their free form (selfregulation) is potential to abuse (ADB, 1999; Runyan, 1999; Kandy, 1997). Hawks (1997) even puts forward the bold idea that “doing good deeds has become big business,” revealing that nonprofits merely transformed into a fast growing industry controlling assets in excess of a trillion dollars. There is no similar critical study in the country, but the quite recent pork barrel scandal, involving lawmakers, executives and bogus nonprofits (e.g. Mangahas, 2012) should be sufficient a motivation to probe into the accounting and accountability of advocacy/pressure groups (cf. Tilt, 2005). Remarkably, the number of nonprofits in the Philippines has been estimated to be at 500,000 (ADB, 2007),20 i.e. roughly one organization for every 150 Filipinos. They greatly outnumber the barangays (42,028), but hardly 1% of them are perceived as truly “development-oriented” (ADB, 1999, 2007; NSCB, 2014). Moreover, global impositions succeed because the nation has developed resilience from its long history of foreign domination. Centuries of imperialism already destroyed traditional institutions and ways of thinking, replacing them with habits and mentality, mainly, of the western world (cf. Mastanduno, 2008). The same contributed to the formation of weak, subservient values that renders the Philippine society susceptible to further interventions 19 Anthropogenic Global Warming or Climate Change, which context already departed from the pure scientific study of climate. 20 Only a fraction of 500,000 are registered as non-stock, nongovernment institutions. Among those citing the figure is Mayan Quebral, Executive Director, Venture for Fundraising (www.allavida.org/alliance/mar04b.html) (ADB, 2007). or abuse (cf. De la Cruz, 2012). Colonial mentality (internal oppression) and subservience have an indelible historical basis (cf. David, 2011, 2012; Quito, 1994; De la Cruz, 2012; Dancel (2005); Gripaldo, 2009), and their net effect is glaringly significant: Since 1521,21 less than about 15% of Philippine history can be considered as truly Filipino (De la Cruz, 2012). Therefore, it is no wonder that foreign advocacies in the country proceed hardly opposed. Recent examples are the adoption of the K-12 curriculum (Congress of the Philippines, 2013) and the no less controversial move by academic elites to embrace an international calendar (Diola, 2014). 3.7. Conclusion Response to the Guimaras oil spill began with a poorly organized ensemble of responders. Nationwide centralization proved effective as demonstrated by the creation of a national task force and the personal intervention by the President. Unfortunately, both moves were late. Additionally, the late foreign assistance on the oil recovery proved fatal to the containment response. Existing legislations were abundant but likewise ineffective. The incident highlighted not just the absence of an effective contingency plan but the lack of serious attention to it. Apparently, the sole legacy from the previous Semirara incident was the mangroves response. Guimaras' population of 162,943 subsists on tourism, fruit processing, coconut processing, fish farming, handicrafts making, mining, quarrying and lime production (NSCB, 2014; Alimen and Alimen, 2013). Informants revealed that the average family income in 2006 of about $127.20/mo (₱6.50T/mo) barely met the minimum prescribed by law for individual income (NWPC, 2010) and far less than the actual national family average of $282.13/mo (National Statistic Office, 2009).22 Survey respondents further revealed that only about 28% of 55 means of livelihood is able to generate earnings exceeding the average family income. Guimaras is basically agricultural and has remained a Category IV province in terms of revenue (NSCB, 2014). Accordingly, the needs and expectations of the affected residents were simple and well defined-their economic and physical dislocations redounded only to demands for basic items such as food, safe drinking water, shelter, medical attention and, certainly, any substitute for lost livelihood. The population had constant anxieties about these, as to when help would come, and until when help would last. Unfortunately, human welfare was not as conspicuous as the promotion of marine habitats. The government banked on a science-based response to the incident only that experts pursued an environmental agenda that, in turn, competed with the plans for relief operations. Espoused by influential nonprofits and the academe, environmental concerns intensified until they masked the plight of the oil spill victims. There was comprehensible politics, but the wrestle for funds ended with definite gains for habitat rehabilitation and eco-tourism. Thus, “history repeats itself.” Indeed, the mangrove (environment) response was found as the commonality that threads through the Semirara, Guimaras and Estancia23 incidents; mangroves had become a byword for oil spill. Policy regulation is imperative, especially in times of calamities, but three oil spill experiences already suggest implausibility. Beyond 2006 were only rippling news of litigations, irregularities, and continuing (long-term) research projects. 21 Year of discovery of the Philippine islands by Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese-born Spanish explorer. 22 The minimum wage law specifies a monthly range of ₱6,690 e ₱7,950 or an average of ₱7,320 (~$143) (NWPC, 2010). 23 The most recent news about the investigations of the oil spill still focuses on mangroves and cleanup. ~ a / Ocean & Coastal Management 103 (2015) 42e55 R. Balen It sounds unpalatable, but still it is hard to imagine what sort of regulation, debate or plain critical opinion will actually thrive in an overpowering atmosphere of environmentalism. The environment crusade is welcome in the country and lingers as an effective societal force. As a foreign imposition, the nation has tolerance for it, intellectuals espouse it, and the government enacts laws to protect it. In fact, the government leads a relentless promotion, to illustrate, the World Water Day (March), Earth Day (April), Environment Month (June)24 (EMB, 2014; Sallave, 2014), etc. A Filipino born since the enactment of Republic Act 9512 is likely to acquire an imbalanced perception of his society as Republic Acts 9729 further nudges his education towards environmental advocacy. Therefore, it is imperative for the government to re-think policy review and evaluation because the crusade has turned adverse, and its gains have neither been evident nor tangible. In the main, the nation will benefit from being cautious of its precious assets, how to conserve and protect them, inasmuch as certain “non-priorities” may consume them. Sadly, in times of calamities, poorly equipped nations are the same ones plagued by problems related to policy focus, compensation (cf. Adewale, 1989) or funds allocation (cf. Doocy et al., 2006). Acknowledgment Many good-natured fellows offered assistance to this study in several ways, most significantly, as key informants and respondents to a casual survey. Interactions with lawyers, media reporters and field contacts resulted to a comprehensive understanding of the incident and situation in Guimaras. Atty. Myra Duremdes and law firm colleagues were simply generous of their time and factual materials about the oil spill. Mr. Tadeo Portal helped validate model trajectories by confirming the appearance of oil pollutants at several coastal towns. Meetings with the K-11 ecumenical group led by Msgr. Meliton Osu clarified issues pertinent to, among others, the tanker incident, the investigations, litigations, cleanup and relief efforts. The NDCC Chair was guest in one of the meetings. The Governor and town mayors of the Province of Iloilo were very accommodating during the conference of 21 August 2006; they magnanimously welcomed all forms of advice and critical suggestions. A meeting with the Mayor of Nueva Valencia and staff proved valuable in verifying the status of the most distressed victims. Prof. Victor N. de Jonge was most patient and understanding of the intermittent preparation of this manuscript. Comments from two anonymous reviewers greatly improved the presentation. There were many other concerned but nameless individuals, who aided in the research. This study is dedicated to them, the hapless victims of the oil spill, and the unsung volunteers, who epitomized genuine relief operation. All forms of assistance are gratefully acknowledged. 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