We appreciate your feedback and wish to assure you that we share your concern and sense of urgency. We are committed to do everything possible to help Guimarasnons recover from the effects of the oil spill and restore the island to normalcy.

We take this opportunity to clarify some issues and inform you of the truth.

Since Day 1, Petron employees have been on the ground spearheading efforts to clean-up the Guimaras shoreline under our Ligtas Guimaras program. As of October 16, we had already cleaned 146.40 kilometers of shoreline collecting 6,000 metric tons (estimated) of oily debris from the affected sites. Several barangays in the towns of Nueva Valencia, Sibunag, and San Lorenzo have been inspected by Taskforce SOS (Solar 1 Oil Spill), a multi-agency group composed of officials from the departments of Health, Environment and Natural Resources, Social Welfare and Development, and the Philippine Coast Guard. The Taskforce has already visited 14 sitios and barangays and have recommended that these sites be declared as "cleared."

It must be noted, however, that we have not conducted clean-ups in some places such as the mangrove areas since we have been advised by experts that we might actually cause more damage to these sensitive ecosystems. There are hopeful signs that the mangroves will survive as evidenced by the new leaf buds observed in some mangrove areas.

Petron is closely working with environment experts from Silliman University, University of the Philippines and the World Wildlife Fund for the rehabilitation of damaged eco-systems on the island.

We have distributed 5,644 relief packs to affected families and the next round of relief distribution of family packs will be turned over to the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council. We likewise conducted 16 medical assistance missions in 13 barangays and sitios benefiting about 3,571 Guimarasnons.

As to the disposition of the oily debris, we have shipped out 3,600 metric tons from Guimaras to the Holcim plant in Lugait, Misamis Oriental and they have begun processing the waste. The facility of Holcim has the waste management technology that ensures zero harmful emissions. We are paying Holcim on a per kilo basis to process the waste in an environment-friendly manner.

We are loading the rest of the debris on barges docked at the Cabalagnan wharf as part of our efforts to ship out the remaining waste from Guimaras as soon as possible.

We are now re-focusing our efforts to create alternative livelihood programs (e.g. communal gardening, mat weaving, poultry raising etc.) to help affected families. This is being done in close coordination with the departments of Social Welfare and Development, Agriculture, Trade and Industry, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Philippine Business for Social Progress etc.

With regard to the sunken vessel - Solar 1, a report to the National Disaster Coordinating Council last month based on the survey of the Japanese salvage company Fukada Salvage and Marine Works, indicated that the vessel (carrying 2,000 metric tons of bunker fuel) is deeply embedded in mud on the seabed and is in stable condition. Therefore, there is little likelihood of a major release of the remaining oil in the short-term.

However, a minimal amount of oil continues to leak but because of the depth and the pressure, the oil is dispersed before it reaches the surface and can no longer be considered harmful. Nevertheless, monitoring is being done by vessels at the sink site daily and by means of radar satellite technology.

Because of the continuing leak, we are working with the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund for the siphoning out of the remaining oil.

To put things in perspective, the siphoning of oil from a tanker 640 meters underwater is a very complex operation and requires very detailed planning. With the vessel's proximity to sensitive environmental resources, we have to be very careful to ensure that any operation does not cause further damage.

The operation is now in its planning stages including the selection of the right contractor (only 6 companies in the world can undertake this kind of operation), the preparation of the salvage vessel, custom-built equipment for this specific incident, and importantly, weather conditions. We can expect a definite timetable by next week (week of October 23).

It is unfortunate that despite the substantial progress made after this tragic accident, there are still organizations, who instead of actually helping and deploying resources on the ground, continue to criticize our efforts through publicity stunts and other gimmicks. Despite this, we remain unfazed and we will continue to work to bring Guimaras back to its feet.

As a Filipino company very much aware of our social and moral obligations, we wish to reiterate that we have taken responsibility and will continue to take responsibility for the Solar 1 oil spill. Maraming salamat po.

Very truly yours,

(Signed)
Virginia A. Ruivivar
Petron Public Affairs Manager