00:00In the ocean of Manila Bay, fishermen are facing a calamity.
00:08I can't wait to catch a fish. I can't wait to catch a fish.
00:15When you go home, you'll only be left with gasoline.
00:22You won't be able to buy a kilo of rice.
00:25The ocean is flooding due to the next oil tanker crash in Bataan.
00:32And here it is, guys. We have an oil spill.
00:35Is this all we caught?
00:40Wow.
00:42Good thing. What if we caught all the fish we caught?
00:45Then it's all gone.
00:47Residents are also noticing dead fish.
00:50They can see dead fish in their neighborhoods.
00:52But it's hard to say if it's directly related to the oil spill.
01:00What's more worrying is that oil spills have spread to other provinces,
01:05including Bulacan and Cavite.
01:07There's a lot of oil inside.
01:09So if there's a lot of oil inside...
01:11The fish will be gone.
01:13We won't be able to catch fish.
01:15I'm going inside.
01:17We're here at the general location of the ground zero.
01:22This is the place where the oil tanker fell.
01:28Who should be responsible for the oil spill?
01:32When it reaches that level, we don't know what to do.
01:36And what is the government doing to stop the continuous oil spill?
01:41Wow. Look at this plastic. It's full of oil.
01:45It's hard to remove. It's sticky.
01:58In the video caught by fisherman Romar Estrada,
02:02you can see their catfish that turned black after being thrown from the sea.
02:08This is our catfish.
02:10Here.
02:13Wow.
02:15It's a good thing. What if all of our catfish were caught?
02:18Then it's over.
02:20Instead of catching catfish,
02:22they saw a huge amount of oil spilling from the sea
02:25from the motor tanker Terra Nova at 5 o'clock in the morning.
02:30We're in a hurry to catch catfish
02:32so that we won't be able to catch a huge amount of oil spilling from the sea.
02:37We're in a hurry to catch catfish.
02:39If the oil spills from the tanker,
02:42we won't be able to remove the oil from the tanker.
02:45We can't even remove the gasoline from the tanker.
02:47We're in a hurry to catch catfish.
02:49We're in a hurry to catch catfish.
02:52We're in a hurry to catch catfish.
02:54Wow. Look at this.
02:56But not only the catfish caught by Romar Estrada were affected by the oil spill.
03:01What's worse is that their catfish
03:04were almost sold out.
03:05It's really expensive.
03:07The gasoline is expensive.
03:09And we don't want to buy our catfish.
03:13We're forced to sell them at a lower price.
03:17We're hoping to earn more than P3,000.
03:23But that's all we have.
03:25P4,50.
03:27The sea is affected.
03:30People's lives are also affected.
03:33How did the oil spill start?
03:41While the strong winds of Hurricane Karina were being felt
03:45on July 25, 2024,
03:47the motor tanker Terra Nova sank
03:50due to the strong waves.
03:54Its distance is 3.6 nautical miles
03:57from Lamaukot to Limaybataan,
04:00said the Philippine Coast Guard.
04:02The tanker has 1.4 million liters
04:06of industrial fuel
04:08that travels to and from Iloilo.
04:10Sixteen crews were injured
04:13and one crew was killed in the sinking of the tanker.
04:18Other organizations helped
04:20as soon as the oil spill response operations
04:23started in Bataan.
04:26This Monday,
04:28I joined the surface survey
04:30conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard in Bataan.
04:32We are now here at the general location
04:34of the ground zero,
04:36the place where the oil tanker Terra Nova sank.
04:40We did not stop the tanker
04:43until we found out that the oil tanker
04:46sank due to the strong winds of Hurricane Karina.
04:48But even so,
04:50the tanker is still safe.
04:59On July 28,
05:00three days after the sinking
05:02of the motor tanker Terra Nova,
05:04the environmental group
05:06of Greenpeace Philippines
05:08went to Hagonay, Bulacan.
05:10They said that the oil spill
05:12spread to this part of Bulacan.
05:14We had to rely on other sources
05:16to understand the full extent of the oil spill.
05:18So apart from going to Limay,
05:20we also coordinated
05:22with our partner organizations
05:24that are aligned with our calls,
05:26like Oceana.
05:28Based on their map,
05:30the oil spill was going
05:32or headed towards that direction.
05:34In their documented video,
05:36you can see the ocean
05:394 kilometers away
05:41from the barangay
05:43Tibagina in Hagonay.
05:45Slowly,
05:47the ocean shimmers.
05:50And then,
05:52we could see the streaks
05:54and then we could see pieces
05:56of oil.
05:58And then,
06:00the oil turned brown.
06:02You could suddenly feel
06:04the weight of the wind.
06:06You could suddenly smell
06:08the force, the oil.
06:10And we really had to be careful
06:12because it was also our health
06:14that could be affected.
06:16In the drone video,
06:18the oil spill was more visible.
06:20We took that opportunity
06:22to document it
06:24not only with eye-level pictures
06:26and testimonies,
06:28but also drone shots
06:30of its extent.
06:32This Wednesday,
06:34the Reporter's Notebook
06:36went to Hagonay, Bulacan.
06:38In the first Oil Spill Trajectory Model
06:40released by the UP Marine Science Institute,
06:42it was stated that there were
06:44oil slick sightings
06:46in Hagonay, Bulacan
06:48as documented
06:50by Greenpeace Philippines.
06:52We caught a few fish.
06:54I'll try again.
06:57I've been here for 3 hours.
06:58How many fish did you catch?
07:002 kilos.
07:02About 300.
07:04We don't have many fish now.
07:06The fisherman is Mr. Rodolfo.
07:08He hasn't caught any fish for a few days.
07:10There's a lot of fish.
07:12So if there's a lot of fish,
07:14how many fish can we catch?
07:16We can't catch fish.
07:18We'll just wait here.
07:20So now, what you're doing
07:22is you're just trying?
07:24I'm just testing
07:26to see if I can catch fish.
07:28This is Melchor de la Cruz.
07:30This is his last time fishing
07:32since July 26.
07:34But they didn't expect
07:36that in their fishing,
07:38instead of fish,
07:40they caught a lot of fish.
07:42There's a lot of fish.
07:44Around 11 or 12
07:46last night,
07:48we noticed that
07:50while we were fishing,
07:52we noticed small black fish.
07:54We didn't notice them.
07:56We just caught them.
07:58They caught
08:00MTKR Terranova in Bataan.
08:02But they don't know
08:04where the oil spill happened.
08:06This is the coolest item.
08:08I thought it was just dirt
08:10from the sea.
08:12When we were slowly
08:14lifting the net,
08:16that's the size
08:18that came out of my boat.
08:20That's why I did it.
08:22To let others know
08:24so that the people here
08:26in Tibagin will also be aware.
08:28So that they can see it.
08:30The profit from Melchor's last catch
08:33that night
08:35was enough for their gas.
08:37We went home
08:39because the fish
08:41didn't want to rest
08:43because of the oil spill.
08:45If they didn't fish,
08:47Melchor's family
08:49would earn more.
08:51But because there was no catch,
08:53they couldn't catch any fish.
08:55What I saved
08:56for fishing
08:58and other things
09:00is what we use
09:02for expenses.
09:05I help my mother
09:07in her kitchen
09:10so that
09:12we can eat here.
09:15Melchor and his family
09:17are worried
09:19about how they will survive
09:21the next few days.
09:23We don't know
09:24what we will do
09:26here on the island.
09:28Just like now,
09:30my friends
09:32have to disembark
09:34in the sea.
09:36From here in Dalampasigan,
09:38the house of 5 children
09:40is 4 nautical miles away
09:42when the MTKR Terranova
09:44sank.
09:46But a week after the incident,
09:48the siphoning operations
09:50have not yet started
09:51so that the 1.4 million liters
09:53of industrial fuel oil
09:55that was loaded
09:57by the sinking ship
09:59will be able to breathe.
10:04But not only in Bulacan,
10:06the effect of the oil spill
10:08on the MTKR Terranova
10:10was felt.
10:12In the following oil spill
10:14trajectory models
10:16released by UPMSI,
10:18it is estimated that
10:19in coastal areas of Cavite
10:21and Batangas,
10:23even in Metro Manila,
10:25the effect of the oil spill
10:27was felt.
10:29Just this Wednesday,
10:31Cavite declared a state of calamity
10:33after being affected
10:35by the oil spill.
10:37Reporters went to the
10:39Amaya 5 barangay
10:41in Tansa, Cavite.
10:43The resident,
10:45Maribic Gomez,
10:46was also affected
10:48by the oil spill.
10:50When they went to Maribic,
10:52the coastal area,
10:54they were struck by black
10:56and black garbage.
10:58In the video and photos
11:00taken by the group,
11:02you can see
11:04water lilies,
11:06garbage,
11:08garbage cans,
11:10and clothes
11:12covered in oil.
11:14The other clothes
11:16were covered in mud.
11:18The other garbage
11:20that Maribic collected
11:22amounted to 40 bags.
11:24Because if the same garbage
11:26is collected again,
11:28it will affect the fish
11:30especially us.
11:35Maribic and Romulo
11:37are fishing.
11:39They barely earn
11:41because of the effect
11:43of the oil spill.
11:44They don't eat fish
11:46or crabs.
11:48They only eat
11:50the fish
11:52that our husband caught.
11:54This is what
11:56Lester Jonas
11:58has been going through
12:00for two decades.
12:02We were able to catch
12:04less fish
12:06and it was cheap.
12:08We went out
12:10and fished.
12:12We didn't notice
12:14the last spread
12:16of Lester's group.
12:19But instead
12:21of selling 14 kilos of fish
12:23for 2,500 pesos,
12:25he bought it
12:27for 500 pesos.
12:29Why did he buy fish
12:31from me?
12:33What I was told
12:35when I sold it to him
12:37was not to catch fish first
12:39but to catch fish.
12:41It reached here.
12:42In Ternate, Cavite,
12:44a group of young people
12:46also helped
12:48to clean the trash
12:50in their coastal area.
12:52That's a plastic bottle.
12:54It's thick.
12:56It has a big effect.
12:58Look at this plastic.
13:00It's full of oil.
13:02It's hard to remove.
13:07In the Oil Spill Trajectory Model
13:09of UPMSI July 29, 2024,
13:10the oil spill reached
13:12the coastal areas
13:14of Cavite.
13:16The next day, July 30,
13:18the oil spill reached
13:20Metro Manila.
13:22In the drone footage
13:24of Greenpeace Philippines,
13:26the oil was seen
13:28spreading in Manila Bay.
13:30As of now,
13:32according to the Philippine Coast Guard
13:34or PCG,
13:36only one liter of oil
13:37reached MTKR Terranova
13:39from 2 gallons per minute
13:41in the first few days.
13:43In this underwater footage,
13:45divers were careful
13:47as the oil tanker sank.
13:49When the valve reached the ship,
13:51they one by one
13:53sealed it.
13:55The next week,
13:57PCG's target was the siphoning
13:59from the tanker.
14:01But the oil spill
14:03from MTKR Terranova
14:05was not yet solved.
14:07This is what happened.
14:09Not far from here,
14:11in the bay of Maribeles,
14:13MTKR Jason Bradley sank.
14:15Until now,
14:17the ship is still there
14:19with a load of 5,500 liters
14:21of operational oil.
14:23But here in the bay of Maribeles,
14:25you can see the effect
14:27of the oil spill.
14:29There are marks of mud
14:31on their bay.
14:33Residents have also noticed
14:35dead fish.
14:37It's hard to say
14:39if this is directly related
14:41to the oil spill.
14:43The local government
14:45and the provincial government
14:47are sending
14:49improvised oil spill booms
14:51here in Maribeles
14:53to prevent
14:55the oil spill
14:57from entering their bay.
15:00In the drone video,
15:02MTKR Jason Bradley was surrounded
15:04by the oil spill boom.
15:05Two Coast Guard ships
15:07are also watching the oil tanker.
15:09We will continue to assess
15:11where to put the pipes
15:14so that we can start
15:16the siphoning here
15:18in MTKR Bradley.
15:20This Thursday,
15:22aside from the smelly complaint
15:24of the residents,
15:26some dead fish were seen
15:28in Pangpang.
15:30Some dead fish were seen
15:32in Pangpang.
15:33UPMSI said
15:35the oil spill
15:37is dangerous to health and the environment.
15:39The oil spill
15:41can affect
15:43organisms in the sea
15:45that are non-photonosynthesized.
15:47These are photosynthetic organisms
15:50like phytoplankton
15:52that we can see
15:54in surface water.
15:56The long-term impact
15:58of the oil spill
16:00can affect mangroves,
16:01coral reefs,
16:03and seagrass ecosystems.
16:05These are the homes,
16:07feeding ground,
16:09breeding ground,
16:11and habitat of diverse
16:13marine organisms
16:15in the environment.
16:17If the oil spill
16:19and seagrass ecosystem
16:21are already affected,
16:23the oil spill can have
16:25a long-term effect
16:27on food security in the country.
16:29In Terra Nova,
16:31if the oil spill
16:33does not spread,
16:35we will encounter
16:37problems
16:39in food security.
16:43In the past few days,
16:45the Bureau of Fisheries
16:47and Aquatic Resources
16:49or BFAR
16:51conducted water testing
16:53in some areas
16:55affected by the oil spill.
16:57We conducted
16:59sensory evaluation
17:01in the area
17:03of Bataan
17:05and Negatib.
17:07They do not smell like oil
17:09or taste like oil.
17:11But there are some areas
17:13in Bataan and Cavite
17:15that have already declared
17:17fishing ban.
17:19In Cavite in particular,
17:21it immediately manifested
17:23that there are fish
17:25that already tasted.
17:27So we forced them
17:29to declare
17:31a selective ban
17:33particularly in
17:35Ground Zero
17:37but not the entire area.
17:40On July 23,
17:42MV Mirola
17:44was the first to enter
17:46the shallow waters
17:48of Mariveles, Bataan.
17:50The Philippine Coast Guard
17:52immediately conducted
17:54an oil recovery operation.
17:56Minimal oil sheens
17:58were observed in the area.
18:00In the next incident
18:02of an oil spill,
18:06what is the government doing
18:08to prevent
18:10the continued oil spill?
18:12The Philippine Coast Guard
18:14also deployed
18:16the Marine Casualty
18:18Investigation Team.
18:20We have a law enforcement
18:22and investigation body
18:24that is here
18:26and at the same time
18:27we are also
18:29investigating the issue
18:31of oil spill.
18:33We are also
18:35investigating
18:37the issue
18:39of oil spill.
18:41We are also
18:43investigating
18:45the issue
18:47of oil spill.
18:49Unfortunately,
18:51there is no such thing
18:53as an oil spill cleanup
18:55because oil never disappears.
18:57It stays in the environment.
18:59The real long-term impacts
19:01may be unquantifiable.
19:03It is important
19:05to answer the questions
19:07about the oil spill.
19:09It is not the fault
19:11of the fisherfolk.
19:13It is certainly not the fault
19:15of the biodiversity in the area.
19:17It should also be recovery
19:19and compensation
19:21and accountability
19:23and transparency.
19:25The investigation
19:27will move forward
19:29in our investigations.
19:31Meanwhile,
19:33we tried to obtain
19:35the company that got
19:37the MT Terranova
19:39and MT Jason Bradley.
19:41But until now,
19:43they haven't answered us.
19:45The reporter's notebook
19:47for their investigation
19:49is open.
19:51The Philippine Coast Guard
19:53is continuing
19:55to investigate
19:57the oil spill.
19:59The tragedy
20:01is not only the destruction
20:03of the environment,
20:05but also the lives
20:07that are affected.
20:09By the end of the week,
20:11we don't know
20:13what to do.
20:15You'll be in trouble
20:17when you go home.
20:19You'll be caught
20:21in the gas station
20:23and you won't be able
20:25to buy a kilo of rice.
20:27And the government
20:29will help them
20:31to recover.
20:33I am Mackie Pulido.
20:35I am Dune Vanaracion
20:37and this is the Reporter's Notebook.
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