Town affected by oil spill declares state of calamity

By Charles Arvin Dantes, Alena Mae Flores, and Maricel V. Cruz

THE town of Pola in Oriental Mindoro has been placed under a state of calam- ity after an oil spill from a sunken tanker carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel turned its seawater and shoreline black and resulted in fishkill, Mayor Jennifer Cruz said Friday.

In an interview on Dobol B TV, Cruz said she and all the barangay captains declared a state of calamity after the tanker MT Princess Empress sank near the town’s boundary with Naujan. the transport strike, which is expected to run from March 6 to 12.

“You can see the oil spill in the waves.

About 40,000 jeepney and UV Express drivers, under the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations, Manibela, and Piston, are reportedly expected to join the strike to protest the planned phaseout of traditional jeepneys in favor of modern electric vehicles.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government has prepared several contingencies to help commuters who will be affected by the disturbance, despite the LTFRB’s assurance that 94 percent of jeepney drivers are not joining the transport group strike. During the inter-agency meeting presided over by Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Hubert Guevarra on Friday,