MANILA.- The oil slick formed by leaking fuel from a sunken tanker off Guimaras province has reached the coasts of at least two towns in Iloilo province on the nearby island of Panay as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo formed a task force to deal with the environmental disaster two weeks after the Solar I went down August 11.

Fears that the slick could spread further and reach as far as the island municipality of Bantayan in Cebu and an Iloilo congressman urged Pres. Arroyo to declare a state of calamity over the whole of Western Visayas even as the Philippine Coast Guard said the Petron-chartered tanker had sprung a new leak yesterday.

The disaster is expected to cost 48 million pesos in lost marine resources and affect 2,500 fisherfolk, Senator Edgardo Angara said, breaking this down into: seaweed, 13.4 million pesos; milkfish, 20 million pesos, and municipal fisheries, 14.6 million pesos.

In Manila, the owner of a chain of hair salons has ordered all his 200 branches and franchises nationwide to collect customer's hair after learning from international environmental group Greenpeace that human hair can prove valuable in containing the oil. Japanese and American experts were scheduled to arrive in the country yesterday to help in cleanup efforts. Petron is expecting another team it is hiring to arrive within the week.

The oil, which has taken on a tar-like consistency after "coagulating" with seawater, has reached the coasts of Ajuy and Concepcion towns, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) chief, Vice Admiral Arthur Gosingan said.

Iloilo Representative Rolex Suplico said the slick had reached Pulopina Island in Concepcion, some 150 kilometers north of the site where the Solar I sank last week.

"I call on the Arroyo government to declare a state of calamity in Western Visayas due to the ongoing environmental disaster caused by the Guimaras oil spill," he said.

"But this is easier to clean since the oil is almost solid and can easily be scooped out of the water," Gosingan said in a phone interview.

Gosingan said they had also set up oil spill booms to prevent the oil spill from spreading toward Negros Island south of Guimaras.

"We are doing all we can to prevent it from spreading to Negros," he said.

The PCG estimated 350,000 of the estimated 2 million liters carried by the Solar I has so far leaked out.

"It's definite that there is a [new] leak," Gosingan told Philippine television. He said the oil was "probably" coming out at 200 liters, or slightly more than 50 gallons, an hour.

But with authorities unsure whether to try to re-float the vessel or suck out the remaining fuel, there is a race against the clock because of fears that the water pressure at that depth could burst the remaining containers at any time.

Suplico said the government could also include funds in the proposed 46.4 billion-peso supplemental budget for the PCG and other agencies to effectively combat the oil spill.

"The Coast Guard is ill-equipped," Suplico said. "It can deal with oil spills of this magnitude only with a first-aid response, likened to using a band-aid."

Les Reyes of Reyes Haircutters said his chain of salons started collecting hair yesterday.

"All cut hair will be kept in garbage bags, and will be collected by our office. We will then deliver them to the Coast Guard and Greenpeace," he said.

Reyes said each of his salons can produce at least one big garbage bag of hair a day.

Reyes said all members of the Philippine International Hairdressers Association have also signified their intention to join in the efforts to clean up what is believed to be the worst oil spill in the country.

He also called on all estimated 2,000 salon owners in the country to help. He said those interested to contribute hair may go to any Reyes Haircutter branch or the main branch in Anonas, Quezon City, or to call +63 2 9136252.

In the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, human hair was found to have great adsorptive quality. According to the CNN website, which wrote about it, oil clings to hair as the tiny scales on hair snag and hold the oil. Chicken feathers, wool, and straw may also be used, but human hair is found to be more absorptive.

Bantayan Mayor Geralyn Escario-Cañares said the Visayan Sea Squadron and Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) national environmental team leader lawyer Antonio Oposa has called her attention to the possible spread of the oil slick to the seas of her island town.

She quoted Oposa as saying the oil slick could reach Bantayan in the next few days, especially due to the southwest monsoon season.

IBP president Jose Vicente Salazar said they have created a fact-finding body, headed by Oposa, to " pinpoint the potential liability of responsible parties and recommend measures to prevent another such incident."

Joining the team as advisors are scientists from World Wide Fund for Nature (WWFN) and the Siliman University.

The team will report its findings to the Washington DC-based International Network for Environmental Compliance, the Secretariat of the United Nation Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), other international bodies and concerned agencies of the government.

Task Force Guimaras, created by Arroyo, includes the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), PCG, the Health, Energy, Transportation and Communications, and Environment and Natural Resources departments.

"The forming of the task force is to formalize what had been happening on the ground and in order for government to have a plan for the medium and long term," Defense Secretary and NDCC chairman Avelino Cruz said at a news conference.

Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes acknowledged the situation is a "disaster in progress" that threatens the Philippines seas as long as the oil-laden Solar I, which is estimated to still hold more than a million liters, remains under water.

"It's dangerous to attach a figure now [to] the disaster in the sense that it's an ongoing, it's a disaster in progress, in the sense that the even bigger potential disaster is still down there," Reyes said when asked for estimates of how much the cleanup would cost.

While Cruz said Petron would ultimately shoulder the expenses for the recovery of the oil and the cleanup, the government would first foot the bill, if necessary, to ensure faster action.

Petron spokeswoman Virginia Ruivivar denied reports of a new leak, based on aerial surveys she said the firm conducted. "Our own aerial surveys confirm that there's no new leak," she said.

Greenpeace, which last week called the situation a "ticking time bomb," warned the government yesterday to prepare for long term damage over a wide area.

"The impact of this oil spill on the environment will linger for years, even decades. The government must learn from this disaster," it said.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the President has directed her Cabinet to work on the "basic and clear cut guidelines on quick response, containment and clean up" in the event of a similar disaster in the future.

"The Guimaras crisis team is on the ball 24 by 7 and making the tactical decisions on the oil spill cleanup and the welfare of affected communities," Bunye said.