LINGAYEN – The provincial government has given an ultimatum of 10 days to the owner of a barge that ran aground in the shallow waters off sitio Talisay in barangay Macaboboni, Agno since Dec. 18 last year to remove the vessel from the area to prevent further serious environmental damage.

Gov. Victor Agbayani issued the ultimatum through Provincial Administrator and concurrent legal officer Virgilio Solis following an inter-agency meeting on the problem at the Urduja House here on Friday.

The inter-agency meeting was attended by representatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippine Coast Guard, Agno Police, municipal government of Agno, barangay council of Macaboboni and members of non-government organizations.

Solis expressed concern over reports that the LCT Eisner owned by the Asian Shipping Company has not been pulled out of the area with most of its 4,500 metric tons of coal still intact but slowly being littered to the sea.

Fudes Bautista, barge patron, sought an extension of time for his company to pull out LCT Eisner but Solis said it is the provincial government under this situation that imposes the condition and not the former’s company.

Solis said if the barge is not yet removed after the 10-day ultimatum, the provincial government will take custody of the vessel and remove it, including its load of coal, at the expense of the company.

He said this move is separate from the action to be taken by the municipal government of Agno whose coastal resources were destroyed and the livelihood of its people affected as a result of the incident and the coal spill that ensued afterwards.

The incident happened when the barge was chartered by the Philippine National Oil Company to deliver coal from Semirara, Antique to Poro Point in San Fernando City, La Union.

On Dec. 17, however it encountered big waves in the high seas and it ran aground only 20 meters away from the shallow shore of sitio Talisay.

The Agno police led by Inspector Leonardo Navalta, police chief, certified that the incident has caused the destruction of seaweeds and corals in the area.

He said he received a report from two residents stating that the remaining coal in LCT Eisner caught fire sometime in January 7 this year and that it was poured with water by the barge crew.

The Philippine Coast Guard confirmed that there is now a serious coal spill in Agno which was affirmed in laboratory analysis of water samples conducted by the DENR. This was also reported by Professor Nicanor Melecio, environmental consultant to the governor, who conducted an ocular inspection in the area sometime in February.

In 1999, a serious coal spill also happened in Bolinao. The municipal government filed an action with the marine board because coastal resources and the livelihood of fishermen were also affected.