"We are very angry with the oil company"

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21 August 2006

by Connie Gamuya, counsellor of La Paz, island of Guimaras

©Greenpeace/Heike Dierbach

I am only counsellor since two months and now my community is facing the biggest catastrophe ever. As a counsellor it is my work to help the people to find solutions to their problems. That's how we always do it: We get together and talk, and then we draw a decision all together. But how are we going to face this?

I myself am not fishing. I am a single woman and I sell rice to earn a living. But 90 percent of the families in La Paz are affected because they go fishing. Now even when they go out very far to catch, who is going to buy it? People don't want fish from Guimaras any more.

We are very angry with the oil company. We took so much care of our mangroves. They were really our pride - and now the company has destroyed it. I think they have to pay a compensation. Not only to the fishermen but also for the damage on the ecosystem.

We talked about what we can do now to get food. Maybe we can grow vegetables. We don't know what will be.

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Comments

It sounds like the situation is appalling - I only hope the Phillipine government has the guts to stand up to Petron and demands compensation and immediate clean-up support.

Posted by: Jamie@GPUK at August 22, 2006 12:19 PM

Guimaras Island and the people of Guimaras do not deserve this!

How can OFWs help?

Posted by: Tonie at August 23, 2006 4:57 PM

The oil spill in Guimaras is the last bad news I want to hear. It is such a waste of life. I am a scuba diver and have worked for a few years voluntarily for an NGO that aims to protect marine life. I can say that in this case, the company to blame is not the oil company that hired the vessel, but the company the owns the vessel. The oil company by conscience should help out in the clean-up of course (which they are already doing) but the blame is not theirs. They did not cause the spill, they just hired the vessel to deliver the cargo to its destination.

Posted by: Mimuks at September 17, 2006 9:33 AM

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