Group to DENR on Oriental Mindoro oil spill: ‘Make tanker owners pay up’

Together with an oil spill boom and skimmer, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) goes around the suspected area of the sunken oil tanker MT Princess Empress at the northeast of Balingawan Port, Lucta Port, and Buloc Bay in Oriental Mindoro on March 14, 2023.  PHOTO: Malayan Towage and Salvage Corporation via Philippine Coast Guard

MANILA, Philippines — An organization has criticized the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for its alleged inability to run after the owners of the oil tanker that sank off the coast of Oriental Mindoro.

Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) said, “The owners of MT Princess must be made to pay for the damages they have caused and the approval of the dirty energy projects must be stopped to prevent further harm to our communities and our planet.”

The group also blamed the DENR and its attached agency, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), for their supposed negligence in enforcing environmental regulations.

“The oil slick incident was a result of the DENR’s ignorance in fulfilling its mandate and the EMB’s failure to diligently implement compliance with rules and regulations for approving fossil fuel industries. This cannot be overlooked,” PMCJ added.

For its part, DENR said it is applying a “whole of government” approach to the oil spill wherein several government agencies are drawing up harmonized recovery plans for those affected by the incident.

“We have a convergence framework where we look at each other’s mandates, at the point of how we can support the building of resilience for inclusive and sustainable activities,” said DENR Secretary Antonia Loyzaga.

PMCJ, however, chided the department for its alleged delay in penalizing the ship owners.

“The DENR’s claim of closely working with concerned government agencies to resolve the oil spill issue falls short when we consider the glaring question: How will it take for them to truly hold the owners of MT Princess accountable? It’s been two long months and their so-called whole-of-government approach has failed to deliver the humanitarian and environmental justice that our communities and ecosystems deserve,” said PMCJ.

Discussions on who are responsible for the oil spill are ongoing in different branches of government, including the Department of Justice and Senate.

National Disaster Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) earlier put the number of persons affected by the oil spill at more than 193,000 in the three regions of Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Western Visayas.

MT Princess was carrying 800,000 liters of oil when it went down on February 28 off the waters of Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro.

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