An expert team from the Japan Disaster Relief helps the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in containing the oil spill from the sunken fuel tanker, MT Princess Empress, off the waters of Oriental Mindoro in this photo taken on March 16, 2023. (Photo from the Philippine Coast Guard)
MANILA, Philippines — Government agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Philippine Coast Guard should speed up their efforts to avoid further destruction of marine resources due to the oil spill, said activist fisherfolk Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Tuesday.
Pamalakaya made the call following the reports that the oil spill has already reached Verde Island Passage, a corridor regarded as the “center of the center of marine biodiversity” due to its abundance of shore fish species and coral reefs.
“The Verde Island Passage is a highly productive fisheries corridor. Hundreds of thousands of fisherfolk from its littoral provinces rely on its abundant and pristine marine resources. The oil spill reaching one of the country’s significant ecosystems should highly alarm the government and compel them to undertake decisive and effective measures to prevent further ecological damages,” the Pamalakaya national chairperson, Fernando Hicap, said in a statement.
“The government should acknowledge that its inadequate response, more so negligence, to address and contain the oil spill has escalated the environmental disaster. Not to mention the irregularities in enforcing the maritime laws and regulations that allowed the sunken oil tanker to operate,” Hicap added.
He also demanded a probe into what he described as a “seemingly avoidable ecological nightmare”.
Pamalakaya has been coordinating with fishing communities, environmentalists, and other stakeholders to assess the effects of the oil spill on marine resources and socioeconomic rights.
The oil spill was caused by the sinking of the MT Princess Empress in the waters of Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 28. It was carrying 800,000 liters of oil.