Companies evade responsibility for the affected communities while the government pays for initial aid and then leaves them to fend for themselves during the recovery process.
By MAVIC CONDE
Bulatlat.com
ALBAY — Historical data show that vessels are the leading cause of oil spills in the country, but accountability standards are still lacking in this regard.
On July 25, the sinking of the Iloilo-bound oil tanker MT Terra Nova, which was carrying 1.4 million liters of fuel, led to yet another spill in one of Manila Bay’s high-risk areas – Bataan.
The Philippine Coast Guard confirmed that SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corporation, a subsidiary of San Miguel Shipping and Lighterage Corporation, chartered the said vessel to transport the industrial fuel oil.
“San Miguel Corporation’s legacy of harm continues with the confirmation of its role in yet another oil spill with the sunken MT Terranova. It has yet to be held accountable for the devastation it caused tens of thousands of fisherfolk in the Verde Island Passage, and now it is wreaking havoc to communities all throughout Bataan, Manila Bay, and beyond,” Center for Energy and Development Director Gerry Arances said.
Arences stressed that “this cannot be another case of a polluter simply being allowed to cover up its tracks and walk away.”
Last month a new oil spill hit Pola, Oriental Mindoro, the same province where the sunken MT Princess Empress caused P41.2 billion ($69.9 million) in environmental and social damage after spilling 900,000 liters last year.
Marcos Jr. said his administration could resolve the latter in four months, but directly affected communities have the same plea until now: impose extensive restrictions and stop relying on fossil fuels and, more recently, imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) to supplement Malampaya gas shortages.
In a statement, Jonila Castro, advocacy officer of environmental group Kalikasan, said the oil spill speaks of failure of the current administration.
“Thousands of families are suffering, their homes and livelihoods destroyed. This is not just an environmental catastrophe; it’s a damning indictment of the Marcos Jr. administration’s criminal negligence and incompetence in disaster preparedness and response,” she said.
Lax regulations harm important marine ecosystems such as Mindoro’s VIP, which is part of the world’s most biodiverse marine areas, and leave affected communities to fend for themselves after all initial aid has run out.
A 2023 study published in the International Journal of Science, Engineering, and Management (IJSEM) on the response and effects of oil spills in the Philippines saw the same gap. It was noted that the volume of oil carried, route difficulty, ship conditions and navigation frequency can all contribute to an oil spill. The study also emphasized that authorities must consider the response teams’ capabilities.
“We have not yet fully recovered from the oil spill caused by the sunken ship. Our fish catch has not gone back to normal and we have not received any compensation. We’re afraid that this recent oil spill would further burden us,” fisherfolk leader and president of Koalisyon ng mga Mangingisda Apektado ng Oil Spill (KMAOS) Aldrin Villanueva said in Filipino in a statement released by Protect VIP.
The International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPCF) turned down the group’s request for compensation when they brought on May 3 their demand letter addressed to the IOPCF, the sunken ship owner RDC Reield Marine Services, Inc., oil owner San Miguel Corporation, its subsidiary that chartered MT Princess Empress and the Shipowners Club. Under the Civil Liability Convention, the IOPCF pays affected communities if a Member State’s ship owner fails to pay for the entire damage.
The group stated that implementing strict standards and restrictions on the shipping of toxic cargo will be a critical first step, as will ending all plans to expand LNG in the VIP and ensuring a full and just phaseout of our reliance on fossil fuels.
New oil spill, the same call
Meanwhile, fishers have been unable to fish since typhoon Carina, and now with the oil spill the local government prevented them from doing anything in the coastal waters without any alternatives, according to the Nuclear-Free Bataan Movement (NFBM).
“We are expecting government agencies like the DENR, BFAR, and LGUs to get to the bottom of this huge crisis, and ensure that regulatory and environmental standards are met,” the group said.
Bataan has the highest number of oil spill disasters in the Manila Bay area, accounting for nine of 18 between 1998 and 2004. Due to its heavy tanker activity, one of its government manuals mentioned the need for “permanent shipping and navigational lanes and aids.” Just a few days after the incident in Limay, another one occurred in Mariveles, doubling the task of containing oil spills in the province and beyond.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said in a live Facebook meeting on July 29 that in the worst-case scenario, approximately 11,000 fishers and workers in Central Luzon’s captured fisheries and approximately 8,000 fisherfolk in Bataan would be affected.
The group emphasized that “affected communities must be compensated not just for the immediate losses but also for the lost income opportunities during spill-related fish bans and long-term damages traceable to the oil spill.”
To repeatedly and explicitly demand for the latter shows how companies have also avoided any responsibility in the recovery process.
The oil spill has now reached the municipal waters of Hagonoy, Bulacan based on aerial images released by Greenpeace Philippines, while the Philippine Coast Guard is verifying reports of sightings in Cavite, including in Tanza.
Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) earlier reported that the fisherfolk of Tanza, Cavite, a fishing town south of Manila, were disrupted by the odor associated with the oil spill and that the fish catch were “already tainted by oil slick.”
“What we have feared the most has already happened. The oil spill has now spread in Manila Bay and is harming the livelihoods of local fisherfolk,” Pamalakaya said, adding that around 29,000 fishers in Cavite will be affected. (JJE, RVO) 
