The Philippine Coast Guard on Saturday (July 27) said that around 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil inside a sunken tanker have started to leak into Manila Bay.

The Philippine Coast Guard on Saturday (July 27) said that around 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil inside a sunken tanker have started to leak into Manila Bay. The MT Terra Nova sank due to bad weather off Manila early Thursday, killing one crew member and leaving the country to potentially deal with its worst oil spill. The coast guard is now rushing to avoid an environmental catastrophe. A report by the news agency AFP said that the oil slick has more than tripled in size and is now estimated to stretch 12-14 kilometres across the bay. 'Leakage not alarming yet' The spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard, Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said on Saturday that divers inspected the hull of the vessel and saw a minimal leak from the valves, adding that the leakage is not alarming yet. "It's just a small volume flowing out. The tanks are intact," Balilo said. He hoped that by Sunday (Jul 28), "we will be able to start syphoning the oil from the motor tanker." The coast guard spokesperson also said that the ship that will carry the recovered oil is on its way to the area. Also read | Philippines, China reach ‘agreement’ on resupply mission to remote outpost in South China Sea Oil containment booms have been deployed for what Balilo earlier described as "the worst case scenario" of the cargo leaking out. Thousands of fishermen and tourism operators work in the Manila Bay. The spokesperson said that the coast guard also called for a suspension of fishing in the bay to prevent people from eating contaminated fish. A warning by coast guard The coast guard has warned that if the entire cargo leaked it would lead to an "environmental catastrophe." They had previously said that the oil leaking from the tanker appeared to be the diesel fuel used to power the vessel. However, it now thinks the slick is a mixture of diesel and industrial fuel oil. The vessel sank nearly seven kilometres from its origin in the port of Limay west of Manila. Sixteen of the 17 crew members were rescued from the tanker. The coast guard has estimated that the extraction of oil from the vessel would take at least a week. (With inputs from agencies)

Philippine coast guard says oil inside sunken tanker has started to leak into Manila Bay

A Philippine tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil capsized and sank off Manila on Thursday, authorities said, as they raced against time to contain the spill. Watch in for more details!

Philippine oil tanker sinks in Manila Bay, raising fears of oil leak

Residents of the Philippines' capital on Saturday flocked to an artificial white sand beach that the government has transformed from a polluted stretch of shoreline to mark International Coastal Cleanup day.

Despite opposition from environmental campaigners, President Rodrigo Duterte's government has filled a 500-meter stretch of coastline beside the U.S. embassy in Manila with sand made from tonnes of crushed dolomite boulders from central Philippines.

Manila Bay is a 60-km (37-mile) semi-enclosed estuary facing the South China Sea. Its waters are heavily polluted by oil, grease and trash from nearby residential areas and ports.

The use of artificial sand has been met with criticism, with environmental groups saying the facelift focuses only on aesthetics and has little to do with rehabilitation.

Fernando Hicap, president of fisherfolk group Pamalakaya, told Reuters that the pollution was killing fish stocks in the bay. "There is still so much garbage," he said.

Despite fears that dolomite could be a health hazard, Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso assured the public that the cleanup and beautification project is not a threat to residents' well-being.

"When we see something nice being done to our city and if we feel it is for the betterment of our city, we should always be supportive of that," Domagoso said in a speech to mark the opening of the beach to the public.

Residents of the Philippines' capital on Saturday flocked to an artificial white sand beach that the government has transformed from a polluted stretch of shoreline to mark International Coastal Cleanup day.

Residents of the Philippines' capital on Saturday flocked to an artificial white sand beach that the government has transformed from a polluted stretch of shoreline to mark International Coastal Cleanup day. Despite opposition from environmental campaigners, President Rodrigo Duterte's government has filled a 500-meter stretch of coastline beside the U.S. embassy in Manila with sand made from tonnes of crushed dolomite boulders from central Philippines. Manila Bay is a 60-km (37-mile) semi-enclosed estuary facing the South China Sea. Its waters are heavily polluted by oil, grease and trash from nearby residential areas and ports. The use of artificial sand has been met with criticism, with environmental groups saying the facelift focuses only on aesthetics and has little to do with rehabilitation. Fernando Hicap, president of fisherfolk group Pamalakaya, told Reuters that the pollution was killing fish stocks in the bay. "There is still so much garbage," he said. Despite fears that dolomite could be a health hazard, Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso assured the public that the cleanup and beautification project is not a threat to residents' well-being. "When we see something nice being done to our city and if we feel it is for the betterment of our city, we should always be supportive of that," Domagoso said in a speech to mark the opening of the beach to the public.

Polluted stretch of Manila Bay gets fake white sand makeover

Authoritarian firebrand Rodrigo Duterte takes office as Philippine president today, promising a ruthless and deeply controversial war on crime as the chief focus of his six-year term. 
 
His anti-crime programme includes plans to reintroduce the death penalty, issuing shoot-to-kill orders to the security services and offering them bounties for the bodies of drug dealers. He has also told ordinary Filipinos to kill suspected criminals. 
 
A lawyer who cut his teeth as long-time mayor of the major southern city of Davao, Duterte, 71, has said another central element of his law-and-order platform is to curb social freedoms by imposing night curfews for minors and ban alcohol sales after midnight. 
 
Defying convention, Duterte will take his oath at midday before a small and select guest list inside Malacanang palace, instead of in public before a large crowd and journalists like previous Filipino leaders. 
 
The foul-mouthed politician&#39;s style is a sharp departure from that of the laid-back Benigno Aquino, the outgoing leader of the Southeast Asian nation of 102 million people. 
 
Duterte won last month&#39;s presidential elections in a landslide after an inflammatory campaign in which he promised that tens of thousands of criminals would die, their bodies clogging up Manila Bay where he plans to dump them. 
 
His campaign also relentlessly highlighted the alleged failures of Aquino, who delivered the highest rates of economic growth in decades but failed to stem worsening traffic gridlocks, high crime and widespread poverty endured by many Filipinos. 
 
Even before his term began, Duterte picked fights with the envoys of key allies the United States and Australia over his joke about raping an Australian missionary who was sexually assaulted and shot dead in a prison riot. 
 
After being elected, his controversial comments that some of the scores of Filipino journalists murdered over the past 30 years had deserved to die earned a rare rebuke from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. 
 
Duterte has been accused of links to vigilante death squads in Davao which rights groups say have killed more than 1,000 people. Such groups are concerned that extrajudicial killings could spread across the Philippines under Duterte. 
 
With Duterte&#39;s encouragement, police have already killed dozens of suspected criminals since the May 9 election. The incoming mayor of Cebu, the Philippines&#39; second-biggest city, has also paid out Duterte-style bounties to police for killing drug suspects. 
 
Behind the fireworks of his rhetoric and the war on crime, Duterte has promised a raft of other far-reaching reforms. 
 
Chief among those is to change the centralised government to a federal system in which newly created states would have a large degree of autonomy. Those states would also be able to keep most of their revenues. 
 
But doing so will require rewriting the constitution. 
 
Duterte has also said he can end decades-old Muslim and communist rebellions, which have claimed tens of thousands of lives. Peace talks with the communists are set to start this month. He expects federalism will appease Muslim rebels, who want autonomy. 
 
(AFP)

As president, Duterte plans to reintroduce death penalty, issue shoot-to-kill orders to security forces and curb social freedoms

Authoritarian firebrand Rodrigo Duterte takes office as Philippine president today, promising a ruthless and deeply controversial war on crime as the chief focus of his six-year term. His anti-crime programme includes plans to reintroduce the death penalty, issuing shoot-to-kill orders to the security services and offering them bounties for the bodies of drug dealers. He has also told ordinary Filipinos to kill suspected criminals. A lawyer who cut his teeth as long-time mayor of the major southern city of Davao, Duterte, 71, has said another central element of his law-and-order platform is to curb social freedoms by imposing night curfews for minors and ban alcohol sales after midnight. Defying convention, Duterte will take his oath at midday before a small and select guest list inside Malacanang palace, instead of in public before a large crowd and journalists like previous Filipino leaders. The foul-mouthed politician's style is a sharp departure from that of the laid-back Benigno Aquino, the outgoing leader of the Southeast Asian nation of 102 million people. Duterte won last month's presidential elections in a landslide after an inflammatory campaign in which he promised that tens of thousands of criminals would die, their bodies clogging up Manila Bay where he plans to dump them. His campaign also relentlessly highlighted the alleged failures of Aquino, who delivered the highest rates of economic growth in decades but failed to stem worsening traffic gridlocks, high crime and widespread poverty endured by many Filipinos. Even before his term began, Duterte picked fights with the envoys of key allies the United States and Australia over his joke about raping an Australian missionary who was sexually assaulted and shot dead in a prison riot. After being elected, his controversial comments that some of the scores of Filipino journalists murdered over the past 30 years had deserved to die earned a rare rebuke from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Duterte has been accused of links to vigilante death squads in Davao which rights groups say have killed more than 1,000 people. Such groups are concerned that extrajudicial killings could spread across the Philippines under Duterte. With Duterte's encouragement, police have already killed dozens of suspected criminals since the May 9 election. The incoming mayor of Cebu, the Philippines' second-biggest city, has also paid out Duterte-style bounties to police for killing drug suspects. Behind the fireworks of his rhetoric and the war on crime, Duterte has promised a raft of other far-reaching reforms. Chief among those is to change the centralised government to a federal system in which newly created states would have a large degree of autonomy. Those states would also be able to keep most of their revenues. But doing so will require rewriting the constitution. Duterte has also said he can end decades-old Muslim and communist rebellions, which have claimed tens of thousands of lives. Peace talks with the communists are set to start this month. He expects federalism will appease Muslim rebels, who want autonomy. (AFP)

Duterte to be sworn in as Philippine president, launch war on crime

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Philippine coast guard says oil inside sunken tanker has started to leak into Manila Bay

Philippine oil tanker sinks in Manila Bay, raising fears of oil leak

Polluted stretch of Manila Bay gets fake white sand makeover

Duterte to be sworn in as Philippine president, launch war on crime