PHILIPPINE GOV'T VOWS UTMOST EFFORTS IN ADDRESSING OIL SPILL.

MANILA, Sept 1 Asia Pulse - The Presidential Office said the government will leave no stone unturned in addressing the oil spill now wrecking havoc in Guimaras and Negros islands in the Central Philippines.

"President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared this as a national calamity and it will be treated as such," Presidential Spokesperson and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye assured Thursday as efforts continued to deal with the situation.

To address the disaster, he said authorities will tap all possible sources of logistics needed to contain and clean up the bunker fuel which spilled from MT Solar I that sank off Guimaras Island on August 11.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported this vessel was carrying two million litres of bunker fuel when it sank en route to Zamboanga from Bataan province where it loaded the cargo from oil giant Petron Corporation's refinery.

Authorities are eyeing as potential additional logistics compensation from the 1992 Fund Convention for damage the country sustained due to the oil spill.

The Philippines is a signatory to this international treaty and the 1992 Civil Liability Convention, both of which make available to the country and pollution victims compensation for cost incurred in cleaning up oil spills and in implementing measures to avoid future similar mishaps.

Bunye said authorities will likewise continue sourcing logistics to continue cleaning up the disaster site, to rehabilitate affected areas and to provide alternative livelihood for ...