A month after the Oriental Mindoro oil spill, fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has urged the owner of sunken motor tanker (MT) Princess Empress to provide “unconditional indemnity” to the affected fishers and coastal residents.
The group noted that around 18, 000 fisherfolk from Oriental Mindoro, parts of Antique and Palawan, have been unable to return to their fishing activities for a month now due to the oil spill.
“One month after the oil spill tragedy, accountability remains elusive. In Oriental Mindoro, fisherfolk in several towns are expressing frustration over the slow and arduous process of obtaining compensation from the company that owns the MT Princess Empress, the vessel responsible for the spill,” the Pamalakaya Chairperson Fernando Hicap said in statement released, Tuesday, March 28.
As the oil spill from the sunken tanker continued to affect the livelihood of fisherfolk, the group said it has become harder for fishers to cope with the “intricate compensation process.”
The Pamalakaya reported that the families of fishers are experiencing “prolonged periods of hunger.”
“We once again urge for the prompt and direct distribution of compensation to the impacted fisherfolk and their families residing along coastal areas,” he said.
“Apart from compensation, the owner of the sunken vessel should be compelled to shoulder the long-term rehabilitation of the affected fisheries, mangroves, reefs, and coasts, to restore their previous vitality.”
Earlier, Pamalakaya said the owner of the MT Princess Empress should be held liable as well as concerned government agencies that will be found negligent in allowing the said vessel to sail.
Due to the oil spill, local governments have prompted to impose a fishing ban, fearing contamination of fish.
In a recent briefing, BFAR said that the country's fisheries sector was losing P5 million a day as the impact of the Oriental Mindoro oil spill continued to take its toll.
The MT Princess Empress' sinking off the coast of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, on Feb. 28 caused the oil disaster. Some 800,000 gallons of industrial fuel were being transported by the tanker, per the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).