May 18 ----- THE oil spill caused by the sinking of MT Princess Empress off the waters of Oriental Mindoro in February will cost Philippine tourism P886 million in lost revenue within a six-month period.
The latest situation report of the national task force on the incident said 55 tourism enterprises in three regions have been adversely affected by the 800,000 liters of oil leaking from the sunken vessel. It added that in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas Rizal and Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), and Region 6 (Western Visayas), 65 tourism attractions and 34 marine protected areas were contaminated by the oil spill.
The specific areas mentioned in the report were the Municipality of Pola in Oriental Mindoro, including KingFisher Reserve, St. John the Baptist Marine Sanctuary, Song of the Sea Fish Sanctuary, Stella Mariz Fish Sanctuary, Bacawan Fish Sanctuary, St. Peter the Rock Fish Sanctuary and San Isidro Labrador Fish Sanctuary; Bihiya Beach; 3 Cottage; Long Beach K. I; Aguada Beach Resort; Oloroso Beach Resort; Munting Buhangin Tagumpay Beach Resort; and Buhay na Tubig White Beach Resort. The estimated total length of coastlines affected by the oil spill is 74.71 kilometers while the total number of affected tourism workers is 1,438.
Meanwhile, the waters of Clusters 4 (municipalities of Bongabong, Roxas, Mansalay and Bulalacao) and 5 (municipalities of Puerto Galera, Baco and San Teodoro) in Oriental Mindoro are now within acceptable standards for fishing activities based on tests conducted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on April 17 and 24. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said that while all monitored shorelines affected by the oil spill have generally improved, the Philippine Coast Guard will continue its offshore containment operations. It added that a team of subject matter experts from the United States Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US Navy are sharing the Philippines satellite imagery for better monitoring and forecasting of the oil spill's trajectory.
Source: manilatimes.net
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