Group calls on gov’t to sue Petron over Cavite oil spill

Philippine Coast Guard team check and get samples from the oil spill over the waters of Rosario, Cavite on Friday to the fuel tanker that has affected at least seven villages in the province.INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—An Environmental group challenged on Tuesday the authorities to pursue legal proceedings against Petron Corporation, the culprit behind the recent oil spill in Cavite.

“It is high time to hold Petron accountable for its environmental crimes, as it has caused maritime oil disasters in the past but has run scot-free,” Clemente Bautista, the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan-PNE) spokesperson said.

Backing Rosario (Cavite) municipality mayor Jose ‘Nonong’ Ricafrente, Kalikasan-PNE pronounced its intention to file charges against the oil firm, whose oil depot reportedly leaked in 2006 and in 2010 across Luzon and Visayas provinces.

On Monday, the President of Petron Corporation Lubin Nepomuceno took responsibility for the incident that affected the livelihood of hundreds of fishermen in Cavite.

The submarine pipeline of Petron leaked August 8 causing a massive oil disaster that turned waters of Manila Bay into red. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said roughly 500,000 liters of diesel spilled into the Southern Tagalog waters based on its aerial survey of the affected areas.

Nepomuceno vowed to “pursue proper remediation and clean-up of the areas affected, aiming to restore the means of livelihood of the local communities.”

Bautista, in a statement to the media, demanded that President Benigno Aquino III’s office should conduct a “full and comprehensive” assessment of the environmental damages Petron Corp. inflicted.

The environment advocates cited a research on the lethal toxicity of diesel spills which yielded to a result that marine life forms can die if they come into direct contact with the harmful substance.

Bautista also reiterated that the chemical compounds of diesel oil have a long-term impact to human health harming kidneys, lungs, heart and nervous system.

“We reiterate our call for the immediate suspension of Petron’s oil depot operations in Cavite and for authorities to hasten the filing of charges based on a comprehensive investigation and assessment of environmental and socio-economic impacts,” stressed the Kalikasan-PNE national coordinator.

The group is also requiring Petron, whose 2012 annual revenue stands at $424.8 billion, to finance the cleanup costs and pay “millions of dollars in ecological damages and socio-economic costs.”

Related stories:

Coast Guard confirms Petron underwater pipe leak caused oil spill in Cavite

Cavite oil spill a repeat of Guimaras disaster – environmental group