MARTIVELES, Bataan — Some 360 villagers led by seven barangay chairmen here went bald Sunday with the cut hair to be used in making booms to help control the spread of oil spill from three vessels.
The village heads were Barangay Alion chairman Al Balan, president of the Mariveles Liga ng mga Barangay, Abel Lopez of Baseco, Florencio Pagsibigan of Townsite, Henry Garcia of Malaya, Rito Ando of Lucanin, and Rodito Luyo of Ipag.
Balan said 18 Barangay chairmen in Mariveles met and discussed ways to help in the control of oil spill from MT Terra Nova loaded with 1.5 million liters of industrial oil that sank July 25 off Limay, MT Jayson Bradley that capsized in Barangay Cabcaben/Mt. View, and MV Mirola I that ran aground off Barangay Biaan, both in Mariveles on July 27.
“So, nag-decide ang mga punong barangay na maaaring makatulong sa pamamagitan ng pagdo-donate ng buhok at saka coconut husk. So inilunsad namin yung pagkalbo sa pangunguna ng mga kapitan at mga kagawad, mga mangingisda, at tanod,” Balan said, adding that they will gather hair from barber shops and parlors as well as those to be cut at the covered court of Alion
Balan said the Mariveles Liga ng mga Barangay is calling on all barangay leagues in Bataan to do the same to help fishermen. “Sa lahat ng coastal areas, sana patuloy nila na gayahin ang ginawa namin para at least mas maraming buhok na maipon, mas maiwasan ang pagkalat ng oil spill sa ating bayan.”
While Barangay Alion is an upland barangay far from the sea, he noted, they are also affected by the threat of oil spill. “Naapektuhan kami, nararamdaman namin dahil ang aming mga kabarangay ay mahihirap lang din at pangunahing bilihin o pangunahing pangangailangan ng aming kabarangay ay isda dahil iyon ang mura at napakamahal ng karne kaya naisip namin na tumulong.”
He said that other punong barangay were not able to attend the hair-cutting being busy in their areas but all 18 barangays of Mariveles sent representatives and participants in the project “Buhok na alay, tulong sugpuin ang oil spill sa Manila Bay.”
Aside from hair, Alion has so far gathered seven dump trucks of coconut husks and more are coming for donation to the Mariveles local government.
Both hair and coconut husks, Balan said, are materials for the preparations of oil spill booms. “Ang bunot gigilingin at ibabalot sa isang net, tapos iyon ang ilalatag sa dagat. Sisipsipin niya talaga dumidikit ang langis.”
“Ang buhok natin kagaya din ng bunot, malakas din siya sumipsip ng langis. Di ba tayo kapag nagpapahid ng langis ang tagal hindi nawawala sa buhok natin ang langis. Kailangan maligo nang maligo para matanggal ang langis, so effective dahil dumidikit talaga sa buhok ang langis,” Balan explained.
