Oil slick detected in El Nido (Inq7.net, 30 October 2006)
"PUERTO PRINCESA CITY -- Sporadic signs of oil slick have reportedly alarmed tourists in the town of El Nido, north of Palawan. Due to fears residue from the Guimaras oil spill might have reached mainland Palawan's northern tip, the El Nido Tourism Council and the town's local government immediately asked help from the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), an environment body in the province."
Guimaras fishermen to be paid (Manila Standard, 27 October 2006)
"The thousands of fishermen from Guimaras Island who lost their livelihoods after the m/t Solar 1 oil spill last August 11 will be the first to receive compensation, the government announced yesterday. Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr., concurrent chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, said the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds has assured the government that about 3,000 to 4,000 fishermen will be compensated for their economic losses due to the spill."
Oil spill spread to Tubbataha feared (Inq7.net, 7 October 2006)
"An expert on marine ecology yesterday called on all concerned sectors to immediately contain the remaining oil in waters off Guimaras as the ocean currents are expected to shift directions in the coming weeks. Ocean currents shifting from its southwest to northeast direction and vice versa will likely result in the remaining oil going toward the biodiversity-rich area of the Sulu Sea, including Tubbataha Reef."
Oil spill damages environment and livelihoods (ReliefWeb, 13 September 2006)
"The oil spill from sunken tanker MT Solar 1 continues to devastate the environment, killing not only the rich marine resources of the Philippine coast, but the livelihoods of the people dependent on the sea as well. According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, US$1.14 million worth of marine resources in fish cages and fish pens have been destroyed."
Japanese ship to join Philippine oil spill cleanup (Planet Ark, 24 August 2006)
"A Japanese salvage ship was due in the Philippines on Saturday to begin siphoning industrial fuel from a sunken tanker off the central island of Guimaras, oil refiner Petron said on Wednesday. The tanker, chartered by Petron, sank in heavy seas on August 11, spilling about a tenth of its cargo and creating a toxic slick that has affected 40,000 people and 200 km (120 miles) of coastline."
Oil spill a "ticking time bomb" (Philippine News Online, 23 August 2006)
"The MT Solar 1 is becoming to the Philippines what the Exxon Valdez was to the Alaska coastline. The oil tanker carrying two million liters of fuel oil ( also known as bunker fuel) sank in the waters between Negros and Guimaras islands in central Philippines last week, causing what has been described as the worst man-made disaster the country has ever faced."
Toxic gas due to oil spill sickens 29 in Guimaras (Inq7.net, 19 August 2006)
"Twenty-nine people had gotten sick due to the elevated hydrogen sulfide present in the air of three villages in Nueva Valencia, in Guimaras province which is heavily affected by the MT Solar 1 oil spill, said a government report."
Oil spill threatens marine ecosystem (WWF, 17 August 2006)
"To date, 200,000 litres of of oil have leaked from the tanker, contaminating a 24 square kilometer area. The oil slick has already reached the coastal towns of Nueva Valencia, and Jordan on Guimaras Island, as well as Villadolid, Pulupandan and Bago on Negros Island. The spill is heading up through the Guimaras Strait."
