Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE RESOLUTION No. 75

______________________________________________________________________________
Introduced by Reps. TEODORO A. CASIÑO and NERI JAVIER COLMENARES

RESOLUTION
DIRECTING THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ECOLOGY TO CONDUCT AN
INVESTIGATION, IN AID OF LEGISLATION, ON THE IMPACT OF THE
OPERATIONS OF EXXON MOBIL EXPLORATION CORPORATION IN THE VAST
AND FRAGILE MARINE ECOSYSTEMS OF THE SULU SEA

WHEREAS, Exxon Mobil Exploration Co., the world's largest oil and gas company, announced on
June 20, 2008 that it will invest at least US$100 million in offshore oil exploration in the Sulu Sea;

WHEREAS, various media reports quote Stephen Greenlee, vice president for Exxon Mobil
Exploration Co., as having talked with then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo about such plans
and that the company is evaluating seismic data from the area and could start drilling next year;

WHEREAS, the same reports say that the Philippine government has allegedly approved the
acquisition, by Exxon Mobil Corporation's Philippine subsidiary, of 50 percent of the operating
interest in a service-contract area totaling 3,088 square miles originally held by Malaysia's Mitra
Energy and that Mitra Energy will retain the remaining half;

WHEREAS, Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park lies in the middle of the Sulu Sea, which
connects the South China Sea and Celebes Sea and serves as natural routes for tuna and other
varieties of fishes going in and out the Pacific Ocean;

WHEREAS, the 33,200 hectare site was declared a National Marine Park in 1988 and a World
Heritage Site in 1994. Thanks to local efforts, illegal fishing and coral collection have been stamped
out and the gradual destruction that was taking place before 1988 has been halted and the reef is
now back in pristine condition. After more than 20 years of conservation efforts, the Tubbataha
Reefs is home to no less than 483 species of fish, 396 species of corals (about half of all coral species
in the world), 44 species of birds, nine (9) species of dolphins and whales and the Nesting Hawksbill
and Green sea turtles;

WHEREAS, the ecological balance of the Tubbataha Reefs and the Sulu Sea will be adversely
affected by Exxon Mobil’s offshore exploration and mining operations which normally generate
huge amounts of waste to be discarded into the surrounding waters. According to the US National
Academy of Sciences, a single oil well produces between 1,500 and 2,000 tons of waste material.
Debris include drill cuttings and drilling mud that contains toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and
mercury. Other pollutants, such as benzene, arsenic, zinc and other known carcinogens and
radioactive materials are routinely released in produced water, which emerges when water is brought
up from a well along with the oil or gas;

WHEREAS, offshore drilling also causes a significant amount of air pollution. According to data
from the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, each offshore oil
platform generates approximately 214,000 pounds of air pollutants each year and will contribute to
global warming;

WHEREAS, oil is extremely toxic to a wide variety of marine species, and current clean up
methods are incapable of removing more than a small fraction of the oil spilled in marine waters.
Offshore drilling platforms and pipelines spilled 1.8 million gallons of oil in U.S. waters from 1990-
1999 in 224 reported accidents that makes an average of almost 500 gallons a day;

WHEREAS, oil spills present the potential for enormous harm to deep ocean and coastal fishing
and fisheries. Oil waste poisons the sensitive marine and coastal organic substrate, interrupting the
food chain on which fish and sea creatures depend, and on which their reproductive success is
based. Commercial fishing enterprises and potentials in a large area may be affected permanently;

WHEREAS, Exxon Mobil is the company behind the Exxon Valdez oil spill that resulted in the
discharge of approximately 240,000 barrels into Prince William Sound, Alaska, United States on
March 24, 1989. This destroyed at least 1,300 miles of the remote Alaskan coastline in what is
considered the number one oil spill worldwide in terms of damage to the environment;

WHEREAS, in 1991 Exxon Mobil pleaded guilty to breaking several environmental laws and
settled criminal and civil lawsuits of over US$1 billion for the oil spill. Its environmental record is
among the world's worst. Based on year 2000 data, Exxon Mobil was ranked sixth on the Toxic 100
list of US corporate air polluters by the US Political Economy Research Institute;

WHEREAS, it is highly dangerous to allow a known air and sea polluter like Exxon Mobil to
expand its operations within the national territory considering the potential permanent damage it
may do to the rich marine resources and biodiversity in the areas it aims to explore;

WHEREAS, various Moro groups led by Suara Bangsamoro have expressed strong opposition to
the proposed Exxon Mobil oil exploration in Sulu and have expressed dismay and apprehension
upon hearing that the government has given Exxon Mobil the go-signal to explore the Sulu Sea for
crude oil deposits as it would not only destroy the environment but also the source of livelihood of
the people in the area, who are mostly fishermen;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Committee on Ecology conduct an

investigation, in aid of legislation, into the impact of the entry of Exxon Mobil Exploration
Corporation in the vast and fragile marine ecosystems of the Sulu Sea.

Adopted,
REP. TEODORO A. CASIÑO REP. NERI JAVIER COLMENARES
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