MANILA – A total of 21 areas in the provinces of Bataan and Cavite have declared a state of calamity due to the impact of the oil spill caused by the sinking of the M/T Terranova, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Tuesday.
In its situation report, the NDRRMC said the figure includes Bataan’s 11 towns and capital city Balanga as well as Cavite’s seven towns and two cities — Kawit, Noveleta, Rosario, Tanza, Naic, Maragondon, Ternate, Cavite City and Bacoor City.
The oil spill has so far affected 25,145 fisherfolk in Calabarzon, it added.
Operations are now ongoing to contain the oil spill.
The M/T Terranova sank off Lamao Point in Limay, Bataan last July 25 at the height of bad weather due to Super Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon.
The ship was carrying some 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil when it sank.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. earlier created an inter-agency task force to quickly address the possible effects of the oil spill.
The task force is led by the Office of the Civil Defense with the departments of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Health (DOH), Labor and Employment (DOLE), Interior and Local Government (DILG), Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Philippine Coast Guard as members. (PNA)