Petron: clean up the Philippines oil spill

The drum was hand-carried by Greenpeace activists who wore protective
gear used for handling hazardous materials. In Petron's courtyard,
Greenpeace volunteers laid down a banner with a replica of Petron's
logo and the words "Petron, stop the spill now!". The banner was trod
on by three other activists who left black footprints leading to
Petron's door, in their wake.

Dragging their feet

Our campaigner in South East Asia, Beau Baconguis,
explains why. "From the start, Petron's response to the spill has been
extremely disappointing - initially they even shunned responsibility
for the spill," she said. "Up to now, they have failed to take urgent
action on the pressing need to retrieve the rest of the sunken oil.
Were Petron genuinely concerned about the well-being of Guimaras, its
unfortunate residents, and the environment, they would have guaranteed
the costs to immediately initiate the retrieval operation."

Sixty days later

It
seems Petron is trying to distance itself from financial
responsibilities associated with the retrieval effort. The company has
been more preoccupied in downplaying the extreme urgency of the
situation. It is now 60 days after the oil spill, and the responsible
parties are still vacillating over the question of money - with little
thought to the dangers the excruciating wait continues to pose on the
environment and the well-being of people in the area.

"Every day that passes means more bunker fuel leaks into the sea and onto unfortunate coastal villages."

According
to the government, retrieval of the oil now depends on whether the
International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) will approve the
compensation of the siphoning of the oil from the sunken vessel. But
the IOPC is not set to make a decision until October 23. Even if
approved, retrieval is expected to begin only in December. Meanwhile,
every day that passes means more bunker fuel leaks into the sea and
onto unfortunate coastal villages. The contamination and suffering, as
well as the health and environmental risks continue.

Greenpeace calls on Petron to hasten the retrieval of the oil by guaranteeing the expected costs. Petron should also:

• immediately intensify relief operations
• commit to paying for the continuing clean up, rehabilitation, and monitoring of the area, and
• compensate
  the communities for the lost incomes since August 11, for up to at
  least 1 full year after the oil has been removed from underwater.

"If Petron thinks they can rest easy after their much-hyped cleanup... they can think again"

"This
is no time to be protecting profits yet again to the detriment of human
health and the environment," Beau adds. "If Petron thinks that they can
now rest easy because of their much-hyped clean-up, which in fact does
little to address the problem, they can think again. As long the source
of Petron" oil remains underwater, no PR blitz can erase the trail of
destruction that leads to their doorsteps."

- Greenpeace South East Asia

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