Panayam kay Dr. Hernando Bacosa, professor sa MSU-Iligan at DOST lead expert on oil spill
Panayam kay Dr. Hernando Bacosa, professor sa MSU-Iligan at DOST lead expert on oil spill
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00:00If there is an oil spill, we will be joined by an expert, Dr. Hernando Bacosa,
00:07Professor at MCU-Iliagan and DOST Lead Expert on Oil Spill.
00:13Doc, good morning to you.
00:18Yes, Professor, I think you are muted.
00:23Okay, good morning. I am glad to be invited to your program after more than one year.
00:30Okay, Professor, welcome back.
00:32Well, you are an expert. Can you explain to our countrymen
00:39how big is the negative effect of this oil spill?
00:46We are involved in the Mindoro oil spill.
00:49We were also ordered by our colleague,
00:54Secretary Rene Solidum, Jr. of DOST to be the lead expert on the Mindoro oil spill.
01:03So, what happened in the Mindoro oil spill was that there was a fishing ban for a few days.
01:10Because at that time, we did not know if the fish were already positive for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
01:21But in the Bataan oil spill, we are thankful that it was only in a shallow 30-meter tube where the lake could be sealed.
01:33So, I think, for me, in terms of damage, it was not a big issue in the Mindoro oil spill.
01:42Because in the Mindoro oil spill, all of the 900,000 liters of oil spilled out to the sea and there was a fishing ban.
01:51In the Bataan oil spill, we are positive that, based on the report yesterday,
01:56the 24 tanks were sealed.
01:59The leaking tanks were sealed and it is possible that they will be sucked up from now on and in the next few days.
02:07So, although this happened in Manila Bay, a major economic and industrial hub of our country,
02:15I think the effect of this is not that big in Mindoro because we do not have a fishing ban.
02:22Because in our fishing ban last year, we learned a lot of lessons there.
02:28The fishing ban, because I was involved in oil spill research in America for 8 years,
02:35and we learned a lot there about the implementation of the fishing ban.
02:40BIFAR is correct. It needs censoring first.
02:44So, usually, when studying in America, if the fish does not smell of oil, it is safe.
02:50And our seafood is classified into three.
02:56The fish, our lobsters or our shrimps, and our shellfish.
03:03The fish, it is very fast to remove the oil from its body.
03:08But our shrimps, because they cannot escape, they are the ones who are really affected by the oil,
03:16even if it reaches our shrimps or shrimps.
03:20Okay. Professor Binangitmon, you have 8 years of experience in America, right?
03:25And 8 years in Japan. I also spent 8 years in Japan in oil spill research.
03:308 years in America, 8 years in Japan, where I completed my Master's and PhD.
03:36Alright, sir. So, as an expert in this field,
03:41do you see the process that our government is doing?
03:47Do we have the capability to solve this problem?
03:52Actually, of course, if you compare it to America and Japan,
03:59we still have a long way to go.
04:04But when it comes to deep water, like the 400 meters of Mindoro Oil Spill,
04:11we don't have the capability to do that.
04:13That's why the oil that was removed from the bottom came from Singapore.
04:19But the 30 meters that we heard from the Philippine Coast Guard yesterday,
04:28we have the capability to sift the oil from the 1.4 million liters tanks.
04:36And the plan is to remove it. When the oil is removed, the boat will be removed.
04:42So, in shallow waters, we have the capability.
04:46There is Harbour Star Shipping Services.
04:49That is also the company that responded to the Mindoro Oil Spill.
04:53But in terms of our overall capability, I think in terms of government response,
04:57we can be more cohesive.
04:59Because in America, we will learn that the effort is really cohesive.
05:05The agencies are really coordinated.
05:10I think we have improved a lot.
05:12Compared to last year, we have improved in our response this year.
05:19And I think we have learned a lot so much from the oil spill in Mindoro last year,
05:25in which your services were involved in different aspects,
05:30including our visit to offshore, shoreline,
05:34and we are also coordinating with the Philippine Coast Guard.
05:40Actually, DOST is offering oil fingerprinting.
05:45Earlier in the news, the question was if the oil from Mt. Tiranova is real.
05:56It could be yes, it could be no.
05:59Because there is a lot of oil in Manila Bay.
06:02There are a lot of ships.
06:04We also have opportunistic spillers that also throw oil when there are oil spills.
06:11That is why we call it oil fingerprinting.
06:15We will know there because the oil has DNA.
06:18There are fingerprints that match the oil here in Bulacan,
06:23the oil in Cavite, the oil in Batangas,
06:27and the oil from Mt. Tiranova.
06:30So DOST and the Philippine Coast Guard will conduct oil fingerprinting
06:37to identify if this is really from Mt. Tiranova.
06:43All right. Dr. Bacosa, good morning to you.
06:46This is Diane Quirer.
06:47Just one last question for my end.
06:49In your estimate, how long will it take for our sea to recover from the oil spill, sir?
07:00As far as I can see, I went offshore the other day.
07:04What I saw there was just oil shale.
07:06It was just a thin layer of oil.
07:09After the flooding, there were a lot of bacteria that ate the oil in Manila Bay.
07:17And given that the oil will seep in the next 7 to 10 days,
07:23I think the bay can recover in the next few months.
07:29I can see that the bacteria that eat the oil in the bay are active
07:33because our bacterial communities in Manila Bay are exposed to different kinds of oil.
07:39But once the oil is degraded,
07:42you can see that it's like asphalt,
07:45it will seep into our seabed,
07:48and we can collect it in its way.
07:52So I think I would give like 6 months
07:56for the oil to seep into our seabed.
08:07And our nature also has the ability to cleanse itself.
08:11We call it nature bioremediation potential.
08:15Okay. Well, thank you for sharing your expertise here in Rise and Shine Philippines.
08:18Thank you very much, Dr. Hernando Bacosa, Professor of MSU, Illigan.
08:23Thank you very much, and good morning to you.
08:25Thank you, Professor.