ILOILO CITY, Philippines - Guimaras Island ravage by a massive oil spill four years ago, has bounced back.
Tourist arrivals in Guimaras in 2009 was up by 34 percent or by more than 50,000 compared to 2008, according to data from the provincial tourism office.
Tourist arrivals last year leaped to 212,938 compared to 158,441 in 2008. This included 7,370 foreign tourists and 205,568 local guests.
The island's tourist arrivals reached only 156,423 in 2007 and 156,423 in 2006 after the oil spill struck. The number of tourists in 2009 was also higher than the pre-oil spill data of 204,312,500 arrivals recorded in 2005.
"We have mostly recovered and the big leap in tourist arrivals is very encouraging and welcome," Guimaras Gov. Felipe Nava told the Inquirer in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
The oil spill on August 11, 2006 was considered the country's worst marine disaster and was triggered after the MT Solar 1, chartered by Petron Corp., sank in stormy seas southeast of Guimaras and spilled more than 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel oil, which it was transporting from Bataan to Zamboanga.
Nava said the island's economy has returned almost to normal with affected fishermen going back to fishing.
The oil spill had contaminated at least 27 villages in the towns of Nueva Valencia, Sibunag, San Lorenzo, Jordan and Buenavista in Guimaras and in the towns of Sara, Concepcion and Oton in Iloilo. It also reached the coastal villages of Iloilo City.
At least 6,156 families or 30,531 persons, mostly fishermen, lost their livelihood.
The oil spill also devastated the island's rich marine resources affecting 239 kilometers of coastline, 15.8 square kilometers of coral reefs, 105 hectares of mangroves and 42 hectares of seaweeds damaged or destroyed.
Scientists have earlier warned that the environmental impact of the oil spill would linger longer than the economic impact.
Various results of scientific studies and researches released last year showed that the island's coastal environment has not completely recovered with marine plants and animals showing abnormalities that are mainly attributed to the contamination of the oil spill.
Nava said continued researches and studies were necessary to determine the extent and duration of the environmental impacts of the oil spill.
But a militant nationwide federation of fisherfolk organizations on Tuesday called on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to compel oil firm Petron Corp. to pay P20 billion for victims of the oil spill.
The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) urged Environment Secretary Ramon Paje to ensure that the oil firm would compensate the 133,000 victims for the damage caused by the environmental disaster.
Aside from the P 20-billion economic compensation package, the group is also urging the DENR to compel Petron to set aside another P 20-billion for the rehabilitation of Guimaras for ten years spread or P2 billion per year.
Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap claimed that owners of the giant oil company have yet to fulfill their promise to fund the rehabilitation of the marine environment and the livelihood of over 100,000 people in Guimaras, Iloilo and neighboring areas.
"Until now, there is no justice to the victims of the Guimaras oil spill tragedy. The DENR has adopted a forgive and forget attitude with Petron at the expense of the environment and the coastal people of Guimaras and Panay islands. This is horrible," Hicap said in a statement.
The London-based International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF), an intergovernmental agency that indemnifies losses resulting from oil spills, had paid a total of P908,120,203 to 22,437 claimants as compensation for economic losses and refund for expenses in the clean-up and preventive measures in relation to the oil spill. But the IOPCF had rejected around 133,000 other claims after it questioned the validity of the claims.
Philippine coastal marine habitats at risk: A case study of Guimaras Island
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