1,000 Mindoro families reeling from oil spill to get aid

President Ferdinandn Marcos Jr leads a situation briefing on the oil spill and distribution of various assistance to at least 1,200 beneficiaries in Pola, Oriental Mindoro, on April 15, 2023. - Philippine News Agency

MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network): Nearly 1,000 families in oil spill-stricken Pola, Oriental Mindoro province, received financial aid and livelihood grants from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr promised to “stay on top of the situation” until they have recovered from the crisis.

Marcos himself, along with Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian, led the distribution of cash aid to Pola fisherfolk during his visit there on April 15, nearly two months after the tanker MV Princess Empress, carrying 800,000 litres of industrial oil, sank off Naujan and Pola towns and started leaking into the open sea.