Oil spill cleanup questioned

ILOILO CITY, Philippines -- A central Philippine archdiocese is campaigning for a boycott of a major oil company after it failed to recover a tanker ship that sank in Panay Gulf on Aug. 11, polluting waters along the coast of Guimaras with some half a million gallons of oil. Guimaras is an island province about 450 kilometers southeast of Manila and part of the Jaro archdiocese.

Msgr. Meliton Oso, head of the archdiocesan social action center, said Jan. 10 that the archdiocese is supporting the boycott because Petron Corporation failed to fulfill its promise to retrieve the sunken ship and clean up the area by the end of 2006.

Petron has 1,200 retail stations nationwide and claims to be the country's largest oil company. Petron public affairs officer Raffy Ledesma sent a one-page statement to media Dec. 29 saying that the company is doing everything it can to serve the needs of the affected residents.

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