Noli: No endosulfan in water samples but fishing ban stays

MANILA, Philippines - Water samples taken near the site where MV Princess of the Stars capsized have tested negative for the highly toxic pesticide endosulfan, but the ban on fishing will stay until the chemical is removed, according to Vice President Manuel "Noli" de Castro Jr. De Castro based his statement on the findings of government experts, and said on Saturday that professional divers were ready to go underwater to assess the situation and figure out how they could haul out the container van of endosulfan from the ferry. "Ang resulta ng test ng Bureau of Plant Industries, negative sa water sample pero nakikita sa TV 'yung hitsura ng bangkay, hindi maganda sa tao kaya baka walang bumili ng isda. Ang suggestion sana sa local government official at mayor mag-suggest ng pinakamaganda at pinakakamabilis na magagawa ng kabuhayan," De Castro said in an interview with radio dzRH. (The Bureau of Plant Industries' initial tests found no trace of endosulfan in the water samples. But we still have to come up with livelihood programs for the fishermen because TV footage showed the corpses and the fish, and people may not want to buy fish from the area for a while. I asked the local government units to suggest what kind of livelihood assistance would be best for them) De Castro also appealed to local government officials to come up with their suggestions soonest, as fishermen in Romblon province were starting to protest their loss of income due to the ban. One of the fishermen, Ruben Rapada of Sibuyan Island, said they could not just subsist on meat for long. "Binabawal dito wala kaming magagawa." (We can't do anything here because fishing is being banned) "Sa madaling panahon dapat dumating ang suporta ng gobyerno (Government should send us help soonest)," he added. De Castro said he was planning to go to Sibuyan Island on Sunday to bring relief goods. "Naunawaan natin sila (We understand their plight)," he said. Government halted all ongoing search, rescue, and retrieval operations for survivors and fatalities, and banned fishing in the area, after learning that a container van of endosulfan was inside the capsized vessel. The discovery prompted officials to consider a new investigation and possible new sanctions against Sulpicio Lines, owner of the ill-fated ferry, which capsized off Sibuyan in Romblon on June 21 at the height of typhoon Frank (Fengshen). For now, all is clear for diving operations to retrieve the container van containing the toxic chemical, according to De Castro. "Sabi ng divers pwede mag-dive na... mabuti ang condition ng pinaglagyan (The divers can dive in, conditions are good as of this time). De Castro said a crane and barge are on their way to the site to remove the container van. "Baka matunaw ang pulbos at mapunta sa dagat, di lang Romblon ang aabutin no'n (The powder could melt in the water and the destruction might go beyond Romblon. We don't want that to happen)," he said. Meanwhile, Transportation undersecretary Elena Bautista said diving operations at ground zero had shifted to endosulfan retrieval. Bautista, head of a task force looking into the sea mishap, said her group's problem now is to find the best way to extract the endosulfan from the vessel. "Pag natanggal sa dagat babalik ang diver para ituloy ang operation (Once the endosulfan is removed, that's the only time the search operations for survivors and bodies can resume)," she said in an interview on dzXL radio. - GMANews.TV