President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said there is no need to create a task force that will oversee the ongoing oil spill clean-up operations in Oriental Mindoro.
In an interview with the media on the sideline of the 126th founding anniversary of the Philippine Army, Marcos said the current task force assigned for the clean-up drive is the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
"You see, there's no need to reorganize everything. The idea is to have the assets in place, so that kapag may nangyaring ganiyan, may response na tayo. We do not have to organize a special group, a special committee, a special task force, they are already as it is," he said.
Japan and America have already extended their help to the country by sending expert teams that will assist the PCG in the clean-up operations.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) oil spill response team has arrived last Sunday while Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) expert team arrived two weeks ago.
In its waste collection update as of Wednesday, March 22, PCG reported that during its offshore oil spill response operations, it has collected about 6,803 liters of oily water mixture and 65 sacks of oil-contaminated materials.
Meanwhile, it collected 2,375 sacks and 22 drums of waste at 13 affected barangays in Naujan, Bulalacao, and Pola, Oriental Mindoro during its shoreline response operations.
