ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER | Representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Maritime Industry Authority, and owners of the MT Princess Empress attended a Senate hearing on March 14, 2023, to discuss the sinking of the fuel tanker off Oriental Mindoro and its environmental impact. (File photo RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) on Tuesday said it found probable cause to file charges against the owners of the fuel tanker that sank on Feb. 28 and caused a massive oil spill that wreaked havoc on the fishing villages and marine ecosystem in Oriental Mindoro.
“Marina has completed its initial investigation… and a resolution has been issued finding probable cause to file a formal charge to the shipping company,” Marina Deputy Administrator Sonia Malaluan said during an interagency meeting on the oil spill at the Department of Justice on Tuesday.
She did not elaborate what charges would be filed but she later told reporters that they were looking into filing an administrative case against RDC Reield Marine Services, owner of MT Princess Empress.
Cease-and-desist orders
Marina Administrator Hernani Fabia earlier said that the agency issued two cease-and-desist orders against the shipowner.
“One is for purposes of cancellation of the franchise or the Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC), while the other one is [for the company] to cease and desist operations,” Fabia said, adding that the orders would remain in effect pending the result of the investigation into the oil spill.
Senators earlier said officials of Marina and the Philippine Coast Guard should be held liable for the spill, together with the vessel owner.
Sen. Francis Escudero suspected that officials of the two state agencies might have been bribed to allow the ill-fated ship to set sail without the required CPC issued by Marina.
Sought for comment, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said that it was “very possible” that Marina could be criminally charged.
“No one will escape scrutiny when it comes to this. It is a time for us to repent and account for what we have done,” he said.
“Actually we are getting more information from Marina because they have committed to submit everything within the next few days. We held off any punitive actions that will [embroil] us further. We are asking them to cooperate fully with us,” he added.
‘Crime, not accident’
The justice chief had also said the National Bureau of Investigation was looking into Marina’s procedures “so that we will know the charges that will be filed.”
“This will not be a time for people to say ‘walang kaso ito’ (there is no case here). There will be cases filed. And we are determined to make sure that people will not forget. What happened was a crime and not an accident,” Remulla said.
“It is a crime against the environment. It is a crime against the Filipino people. A lot of people should be held accountable for it,” he said further.
Remulla also said the shipowner, the insurance company, and other possible fund sources should be checked so that they could compensate the country or at least help it recover from the environmental disaster.