Senate panel wants Marcos to assign oil spill response chief

The Senate committee on environment, natural resources and climate change will ask President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to assign an official to lead the government’s response to the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro.

“We will write the president to assign a head for this operation oil spill,” Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the panel, said after Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda made the suggestion.

“There should be a head na nagkukumpas, parang orchestra, para maayos ang musika. Kung ang Senado merong Senate president, may leadership…Kung batalyon, may leader, may commander. Di ba po? Kailangan may ulo,” Legarda said.

In a separate interview, Villar floated the name of Department of National Defense Officer-in-Charge Carlito Galvez Jr. to head the operations.

“Susulat kami. I will talk to Secretary Galvez baka he can take over kasi siya naman ang pinaka-senior,” Villar said.

The senator said Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito Dolor also wants to coordinate with someone who “can control everybody.”

The MT Princess Empress sank on February 28 off Naujan while carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel. Aside from Oriental Mindoro, the oil spill has also reached the provinces of Antique and Palawan. — BM, GMA Integrated News