Nick Melecio, a consultant on the provincial government, told me that he had asked Provincial Board Member Alice Pulido to conduct a legislative inquiry into the matter. Then I received a text message from Lydia Colobong saying the inquiry will be held on March 10, Friday, at the Capitol in Lingayen.

Manong Nick told me that coal have affected about half of the coastal area of sitio Talisay in Macaboboni village.

The coal (it was estimated earlier that 300 cubic meters of coal spilled from the LCT Eisner which was carrying 4.6 metric tons of this black thing) spread to 500 meter-long area of the beach, covering the corals and suffocating them in the process.

The beach looks clean, but coal can be found where white sand used to be, Manong Nick said.

The immediate physical effect of the coal spill is that corals were covered and suffocated. Fishes which thrive in coral areas have therefore left for cleaner shores. Gone are the octopuses, lapu-lapu and prawns.

It’s sad that the residents who enjoyed bountiful harvest but have lost their livelihood, have to resort to gathering white sand in the unaffected beach area which they sell at a measly sum of ten pesos ($.19), Manong Nick added.

But the worse is yet to come. If nothing is done to remove the coal, the heavy metals they contain would eventually leach into the water, said Reggie Regpala, a chemist of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is supposed to be making a study if heavy metals have leached, but the department is yet to come out with the results.

Reggie said. Coal contains mercury, zinc, lead and arsenic. By then, the beach will be dangerous for swimming, and whatever fish and seaweeds left there would be unsuitable for eating.

Manong Nick proposed that government and residents clean up the coal mano-mano (by hand) pronto. But who will initiate the clean-up?

And, what’s taking the Asian Shipping Corporation, who owns the craft that spilled the coal, so long to tow it away? And if it can't do that the soonest possible, why can't it be resposible enough and clean up the mess it created?

I hope something will come out of the Board's inquiry.