SUNKEN TANKER | Oriental Mindoro eyes graft suit vs. MT Princess Empress owner, officials

March 1, 2024 , 08:11 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(March 1, 2024) – Oriental Mindoro plans to sue the owner of an ill-fated oil tanker, which caused an oil spill that affected thousands of local fishers and damaged the nearby marine environment, the provincial governor said on Friday.

Bonz Dolor said the owners of MT Princess Empress and some officials from various agencies, including those from the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), should face graft charges for the massive oil spill.

“Inuna ng pamahalaang panlalawigan ang welfare ng mamamayan natin,” Dolor told reporters. “Ngayong ang mga mamamayan ay nakabalik na sa normal na pamumuhay, ang kailangan natin ngayon, managot na ‘yung dapat managot.”

The provincial government of Oriental Mindoro will file criminal complaints vs. the owners of MT Princess Empress, officials of other gov’t agencies over the oil spill disaster last year @News5PH @onenewsph pic.twitter.com/8MLt8OSyvc

— JC Cosico (@JCCosico) March 1, 2024

Oriental Mindoro said it plans to lodge a criminal complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman before the last week of March, which marks the Holy Week, he said.

This would be the second known lawsuit lodged after the sinking of MT Princess Empress.

Last year, the Environmental Crime Division of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI-ECD) and Pola Mayor Jennifer Cruz accused the owner of the tanker and some government officials of falsifying documents.

MT Princess Empress sank off the coast of Oriental Mindoro in February last year, causing it to spill some of the 900,000 liters of industrial fuel oil it was carrying at that time.

The oil spill affected more than 24,000 fisherfolks in southern Luzon and western Visayas. According to government figures, damages reached at least P7 billion worth of marine resources.

A non-governmental organization, Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED), estimated the oil spill caused as much as P41.2 billion worth of environmental damages and livelihood losses to fisherfolk communities.

Three months later, MARINA revoked the Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) of RDC Reield Marine Services, Inc., the owner of the ill-fated oil tanker, accusing the company of operating the tanker without authority.

State prosecutors recommended criminal charges against corporate officers of MT Princess Empress, a Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) personnel, and a private individual last month. It also found that the tanker’s owner had submitted falsified documents.

According to media reports, many fishers affected by the oil spill have not yet received their compensation a year after the incident.

Dolor assured that the provincial government is working on speeding up the distribution of financial compensation to the fishers affected by the oil spill.

(MM | With reports from JC Cosico, News5)

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