Oil spill hits Batangas waters

A malfunctioning pipeline has resulted in an oil spill off San Pascual town in Batangas on Tuesday afternoon, a report on Balitanghali said Wednesday.

Oil firm Chevron was quoted as saying in the report as saying that the pipeline malfunctioned while transferring oil onto a chartered vessel about 5 p.m.

The operation was immediately canceled, and the spill was declared contained at 7 p.m., the report said.

Chevron, one of the country's biggest oil companies, said it recovered some 300 liters of oil from the sea.

Chevron is currently working with the Philippine Coast Guard and the Department of Energy regarding the incident.

The Marine Environmental Protection Unit Southern Tagalog is conducting an investigation, the report said.

In an interview on Balitanghali, Capt. Gregorio Adel, the PCG commanding officer in Batangas, said they are still determining why the pipeline malfunctioned.

Adel also said the site of the oil spill, which covered about 80 square meters, has been secured to prevent it from spreading.

"More or less 100 liters lang 'to," Adel said. "Na-secure na agad 'yung area kaya wala na pong kumalat na langis. Halos 90 percent na 'yung ating control."

No fishing areas were affected by the spill, he added. —Jessica Bartolome/KBK, GMA News