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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Hontiveros: PCG officials who allowed 'scrap' tanker to sail must face the law

Hontiveros: PCG officials who allowed 'scrap' tanker to sail must face the law

Published Mar 17, 2023 09:50 am



The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officials who allowed the MT Princess Empress to set sail despite the fact it had already been scrapped, contrary to claims it is a new vessel, should face prosecution, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said on Friday, March 17.

Hontiveros said the latest findings by the Department of Justice (DOJ) merely confirmed the Senate’s initial findings during its investigation into the Mindoro oil spill.

“(That is) the officials from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) should be held accountable for their undeniable negligence and nonfeasance in this incident,” Hontiveros said.

“PCG officials who directly allowed this ‘scrap ship’ to depart from Bataan on Feb. 27, 2023 - despite not meeting all requirements in the PCG’s own pre-departure checklist - should face the full brunt of the law,” the senator said.

“They should answer not only for this incident, but also for the alleged eight other times that the scrap ship had been allowed to sail,” she pointed out. 

Senators, during a hearing, questioned the seaworthiness of the oil tanker. They also questioned why the ship was allowed to operate despite having no Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) permit.

Hontiveros said MARINA officials who allowed the ship to operate despite it not being sea-worthy should also be held liable, if it is true that the reportedly 50-year old ship was not refurbished according to standards. 

“We also need to confirm whether or not the CPC of RDC Reield Marine Services was duly amended to cover that ship,” she said.

“I trust that the Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change will be able to ensure that the officials responsible for this environmental nightmare will be held to account for their actions,” the lawmaker also said.

DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said there might be intent on the part of RDC Reield Marine Services Inc., the owner of the MT Princess Empress, to deceive from the start as they claimed the tanker to be a brand new vessel.

The tanker, he said, was first rebuilt to be an LPG carrier but was later on converted into a tanker.

RDC, however, denied the allegations the ship, which sank off Najuan, Oriental Mindoro, could be already 50 years old. 

Almost 100,000 residents in the province were affected by the oil spill, which has started to spread to Batangas and Antique.

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