President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday directed the creation of an inter-agency task force that would lead the government’s quick response initiative for the possible effects of an oil spill incident in Bataan province. 

Marcos visited the area where the Philippine-flag motor tanker (MT) Terra Nova sank off the coast of Limay, Bataan. 

Marcos ordered the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) to lead the task force, which shall “closely coordinate” with Oriental Mindoro Gov. Bonz Dolor, in a bid “to get his inputs” on his administration’s “successful response to the last year’s oil spill in his province.”

Among the task force’s members are the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Health (DoH), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). 

Marcos, tasked the DENR, in coordination with the DoH, to conduct water and air quality tests in the affected areas.

He added the DoH must check on the health and medical condition of the affected residents. Also, Marcos said the DILG must coordinate with the local government units (LGUs) to facilitate their respective responses.

The President directed the DOLE and the DSWD to implement livelihood programs and provide quick response aid for the affected residents.

Further, he said the DOLE can activate its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program to deploy affected residents in clean-up operations.

Marcos, meanwhile, directed the PCG to evaluate the condition of the sunken motor tanker.

In a situation briefing in the area, PCG Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan noted that the oil spill originated from the engine and industrial fuel cargo of the MT Terra Nova. 

The ill-fated vessel was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel when it sank off Lamao Point in Limay last Thursday.

Marcos ordered the task force to immediately utilize indigenous materials that would absorb oil and prevent it from further spilling into the coast. 

“Let’s be prepared already for the time that we will have to deploy them. Actually, we should be deploying them already,” Marcos told the concerned agencies and local government units affected by the oil spill.