MANILA — The Philippines needs to allocate more funding for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and coastal communities to improve the country's response to oil spill disasters, a University of the Philippines professor said on Wednesday.

When asked about how equipped the Philippines is when it comes to oil spill response, Associate Professor Irene Rodriguez of the UP Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) told ANC that the country would benefit from additional funding.

READ: Divers seal leaking valves of sunken tanker; fuel siphoning set to begin

The UP MSI has teamed up with the PCG and the Philippine Space Agency to project the oil spill movements from the MT Terra Nova, which sank early Thursday off the coast of Bataan amid bad weather. 

"May technology tayo pero kailangan lang ng additional funding para 'yung ating Philippine Coast Guard, lahat ng communities magkaroon ng ganoong kakayanan," Rodriguez said.

(We have the technology, but we just need additional funding so that our Philippine Coast Guard and all communities can have that capability.)

Authorities are racing to contain the leaked industrial fuel from MT Terra Nova, which has led to fishing bans and has reportedly reached the coastlines of Metro Manila and its nearby provinces.

Bataan government personnel even created improvised oil spill booms using coco fiber, rope, and empty plastic bottles.

Divers from the salvage company tapped by the owner of the ill-fated tanker completed the sealing of the leaking valves of the ship on Monday. 

The siphoning of some 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel from MT Terra Nova is set to commence this week.