As late as over 6 months after the oil spill off the coasts of Mindoro, water quality testing in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Pola, Pinamalayan, and Ilijan failed standards prescribed by the DENR. Five out of six MPAs did not comply with the standards in July and none of the MPAs in the September data collection were within the water quality guidelines.
The MPAs should be continuously assessed moving forward to determine if pollutant concentrations remain high and if these were able to comply with the Water Quality Guidelines. These MPAs should be protected since these support the livelihood of the fisherfolk communities across the VIP.
Cover photo in this article is by Aristedes Leuterio for CEED