The tanker was carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil from Bataan province, near Manila, to thecentral province of Iloilo.
The slick off Mindoro island, south of the capitalManila, stretched for 120 kilometres and was about nine kilometres offshore,said Ram Temena, disaster operations chief in the affected province of MindoroOriental.
Diesel fuel, which had been powering the Philippinetanker, and some of the cargo have leaked into the sea, the coast guard saidpreviously, sparking concern for the environment and industries dependent onthe ocean.
The situation was "getting worse", said provincialGovernor Humerlito Dolor.
He had ordered the province's 18,000 registeredfishermen to stay on shore until it was safe to fish. In the meantime, theywould receive food packs./.