A Bacolod firm is assisting the government in preventing an oil spill spread from the M/T Terra Nova that sank off the coast of Limay, Bataan, last week.
“We are not charging anything, it’s our way of assisting the government in our small way in times of crisis,” Ramon Uy Sr., RU Foundry and Machine Shop Corp. owner, said on Sunday.
Their decorticating machines and shredders were fetched by a C-130 Philippine Air Force plane from the Bacolod Silay Airport and flown to Clark International Airport on Sunday, he said.
His staff in Manila will assist in the operation of the equipment on site, Uy said.
“The machines will be used to decorticate and shred coconut husk and other biodegradable materials to produce spill booms to contain the spread of oil from the capsized oil tanker in Bataan,” he said.
The processed coconut husk and other biodegradable materials will be placed into a hot dog like net, then dispersed into the sea for absorption of oil sleek, Uy said.
“The machines will be used for free without any obligation on the part of government, this is part of our social responsibility to assist in whatever way we can during time of crisis,” he said.
Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya, Negros Occidental Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer, facilitated the transport of the machines, Uy said.
The MT Terra Nova that was headed for Iloilo City sank in rough seas nearly seven kilometers off Limay municipality on Thursday, July 25.
Uy said his firm had also assisted in containing previous oil spills in Guimaras and Mindoro.*