Cebu Daily News
Posted date: January 06, 2008
 
BARELY two weeks away from its Jan. 15 deadline, the Japan Exploration Petroleum Company Ltd. (Japex) has yet to strike oil in the Tañon Strait.

Mayor Geraldine Yapha of Pinamungajan town, south Cebu, where the oil rig is stationed, said since the start of the oil exploration on Nov. 15, 2007, the drilling has yet to reach the desired depth of 3,200 meters from the seabed to extract oil samples.

Yapha said according to the Department of Energy, which supervises the exploration, the drilling is still at a depth over 2,700 meters.

"But I was told that more or less before January 15, they would already reach that level and extract oil," she told Cebu Daily News.

The sample will then be tested in a laboratory to determine the quality of the oil and whether is enough for commercial production.

The mayor said a technical glitch stopped operations for a day or two.

After the oil samples are taken, Japex will remove the oil rig and leave Tañon Strait.

If the oil test results are positive, Yapha said Japex will have to get more requirements for the next phase of its operation such as an Environment Compliance Certificate.

"They would practically be back to square one," she said.

Yapha said the only complaint of fishermen since the drilling started was decreased fish catch.

Japex provided two sacks of rice to affected fishermen in the towns of Pinamungajan and Aloguinsan in November and December but only registered fishers could qualify for the aid.

Meanwhile, environment lawyers are confident that the Supreme Court (SC) will tackle their petitions filed against several government officials and Japex.

Lawyer Benjamine Cabrido yesterday said that members of the defense panel formed recently by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City chapter are scheduled to go on training to defend their position against the oil exploration and drilling activities in the protected Tanon Strait.

Cabrido said that the completion of the oil exploration next week will not moot the entire injunction case they filed to the Supreme Court.

Should the rig be removed in the Tanon strait even before the SC schedules the oral argument in their petitions, they will no longer seek for the issuance of a restraining order rather they will push for the trial of the merits.

"We are anticipating that they will file a motion to dismiss based on the mootness of the case but we will push for litigation because of the long term effects of the oil drilling," he said.

Cabrido said the trial will give them the opportunity to enlighten the bench and the bar about the effects of oil exploration and drilling that might even lead to coming up of guidelines to safeguard the marine ecosystem and those who will be affected.

Cabrido, who served as one of the counsels of the resident mammals and whales in the Tanon strait, said the members of the IBP defense team will undergo training on Jan. 12, 19 and 26 to defend their positions in the SC.

Environment and Management Bureau (EMB) Director Allan Aranguez also said that the environment department is monitoring the activities of the oil drilling in the strait.

The director said Japex will soon finish the oil drilling within next week or early third week of January.

Aranguez however will still have to hear the report of the multipartite monitoring team on Monday to know about the progress of the oil drilling activity.

Lourdes Arciaga, spokesperson of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), also said that they are also conducting test fishing in the seas of Aloguinsan and Pinamungajan to determine the impact of the oil drill to the fish catch.

She said they will continue the test even after the rig pulls out.

She said BFAR however will only issue official statements on the claims of the marginalized fisherfolk and environmentalists against the oil drilling activity after the agency finishes analyzing the data. Chief of Reporters Suzzane Salva-Alueta and Correspondent Jolene R. Bulambot
 

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