Inquirer
Marcos says no to appointing Oriental Mindoro oil spill task force head
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated that the Philippine Coast Guard, led by Admiral Artemio Abu, will head the task force for the oil spill cleanup in Oriental Mindoro.
He emphasized that existing assets and agencies are sufficient for the operation, negating the need to appoint a separate official to lead the response.
Foreign assistance from Japan and the United States is being integrated into the cleanup operations.
Other government bodies, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, are involved in damage assessment, cleanup monitoring, and providing aid to affected fisherfolk.
The MT Princess Empress, carrying 900,000 liters of industrial fuel, sank on February 28, causing the oil spill that has now reached Palawan.
Oriental Mindoro has been declared under a state of calamity due to the widespread impact of the oil spill.
The government aims to complete the cleanup operations within four months.
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See how different news organizations are covering this story. Below are the original articles from various Philippine news sources that contributed to this summary.
A tanker, MT Princess Empress, carrying 800,000 liters of industrial oil, capsized off the coast of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro on February 28, 2023, and submerged two days later.
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The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is assisting the Philippines in its response to the massive oil spill in Mindoro.
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The United States has pledged assistance to the Philippines in cleaning up the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro, with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin committing to deploy naval units.
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The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has collected approximately 6,803 liters of oily water mixture and nearly 2,000 sacks of contaminated materials as part of ongoing efforts to mitigate the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro.
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The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has collected over 6,303 liters of oily water mixture and 56 sacks of contaminated materials offshore since March 1 as part of its response to the Oriental Mindoro oil spill.
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