A Filipino environmental scientist urged the government to invest in technology and response drills to minimize the impact of another environmental disaster similar to the oil spill incident in Mindoro Oriental.

Hernando Bacosa, an environmental science professor at Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, said the government should draw lessons from the oil spill that has affected 12 towns and other provinces so far.

“We have to invest in technology, we have to invest sa (in) ROV (remotely operated vehicle) na galing ng (from) Japan and then we have to organize ourselves as a strong force po respond to oil spill,” he said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

“We should have an oil spill drill as well so we know what to do, if we can deploy technology, at least we know,” he added in Filipino.

In the case of the sunken M/T Princess Empress, he said the country currently lacks “the technological capability to seal the leaking tanks.”

Bacosa said this investment should be a priority given that the Philippines is an archipelagic nation, home to some of the world’s most biodiverse marine ecosystems.

The professor, who also heads a Department of Science and Technology (DOST) support for the Mindoro spill, said the government should advance research that explores ways to contain slicks at the onset of an oil spill.

“When this kind of event happens, our science team and technology have to be ready so we can respond because it could happen anytime, given that we have 7,100 islands,” he said in Filipino.

Bacosa said the DOST is currently funding a study to develop local materials that can sequester oil efficiently.

The program, however, is still in a nascent stage and the materials are not yet ready to be deployed in Mindoro.

“The DOST is investing on this kind of technology at dapat po we have to support this one hanggang mag-commercialize na puwede nating magamit, puwede nating ipagbili sa ibang bansa (we need to support this and commercialize it to sustain it, maybe sell it to other countries) and then it will generate employments,” he said.

CURRENTPH NEWS SERVICE