Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla assured on Tuesday, April 4, that criminal charges will be filed against those involved in the oil spill caused by the sinking of MT Princess Empress off the waters in Oriental Mindoro.
“We are determined to make sure that people would not forget that what happened was a crime and not an accident,” Remulla told journalists.
Remulla led another inter-agency meeting on the oil spill. Representatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Health (DOH), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) attended the meeting.
“It is a crime against the environment. It is a crime against the Filipino people. A lot of people should be held accountable for it,” Remulla stressed.
He said that “the NBI is investigating the MARINA’s processes so that we will know the charges that will be filed.”
“As we have discussed in the DOJ this will not be a time for people to say walang kaso ito (there is no case on this). There will be cases filed,” he assured.
During the meeting, Remulla confirmed that MARINA conducted an investigation and found probable cause against the owners of the sunken motor tanker, and an administrative case will be filed.
He said that MARINA has issued a cease-and-desist order against the ship owner that resulted in the grounding of three vessels including two tankers and a passenger vessel.
The DENR had also imposed an administrative fine of P471,000 per day against the ship owners until the oil spill has been resolved, he also said.
“For the first time nagkaroon ng (there was) grounding of vessels. We have never heard this happened before even in past tragedies,” he noted.
He pointed out that “our maritime playbook should be changed for the benefit of the Filipinos.”