Oil sheen and thin patches of industrial oil from the sunken MT Princess Empress have reached the shores of Verde Island on Monday. The island is at the heart of the Verde Island Passage, the strait connecting Batangas and Mindoro, and is known to be a critical global center of marine biodiversity. (GEORGINA MONTEMAYOR/CONTRIBUTOR)
MANILA, Philippines — The residents and fishermen whose displaced or affected by the massive oil spill in Oriental Mindoro may seek financial compensation but will have to prove the environmental disaster’s impact on their livelihood, a lawyer said Thursday.
“In response to the oil spill incident, plans are also underway for local claims offices to open in the affected areas. On the week of 27 March 2023, the first claims offices, also known as claims caravan—it will be called claims caravan—will open in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, and will act as the collecting point for claimants to submit their completed claim form,” said lawyer Valeriano Del Rosario, who represents the P&I Club, the insurance association covering the owners of the MT Princess Empress, which caused the oil spill.
Del Rosario said that local claims offices would also be set up in barangays. Filipino claims officers are still undergoing training in Singapore as of press time.
“Claims are expected to be forthcoming from the individuals, corporations, and local governments affected by the oil spill in the following categories. The first category is cost of cleanup and preventive measures. Category two, economic loss of those in fisheries and mariculture. Category three, economic loss for those in the tourism sector and related business. Category four, property damage,” said Del Rosario.
Claimants can secure the necessary forms from the claims offices.
Del Rosario stressed that “appropriate evidence” is needed.
“Claims will only be assessed if sufficient information has been provided by the claimants,” he said.
Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito Dolor, in the same briefing, clarified that the setting up the claims offices will start on Monday.
The MT Princess Empress sank on February 28 off Oriental Mindoro, carrying with it 800,000 liters of oil. The oil slick has since reached Palawan and other areas.
A fishing ban has been imposed in affected areas. The Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has urged a continuous fishing ban due to traces of oil in fish caught in affected areas.