ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Romualdez commits P200-M 'ayuda' for 8,000 oil spill-weary fishermen from Oriental Mindoro

Romualdez commits P200-M 'ayuda' for 8,000 oil spill-weary fishermen from Oriental Mindoro

Published Sep 21, 2023 08:26 am

At A Glance

  • House Speaker Martin Romualdez has committed to secure nearly P200 million in direct cash aid or "ayuda" for some 8,000 fishermen who lost their livelihood in Oriental Mindoro as a result of the M/V Princess Empress oil spill. 

IMG-31ebf942e88dc12f67f9edd48f86e716-V.jpgHouse Speaker Martin Romualdez (Speaker’s office)

 

 

 

 

 

 

House Speaker Martin Romualdez has committed to secure nearly P200 million in direct cash aid or "ayuda" for some 8,000 fishermen who lost their livelihood in Oriental Mindoro as a result of the M/V Princess Empress oil spill. 

Romualdez, who personally met with leaders of the fishermen group Wednesday, Sept. 20 at Batasan Complex in Quezon City, said he will source the funds from the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged / Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). 

Each of the 8,000 fishermen will be given P24,000 under TUPAD. The total payout is P192 million. 

“Panimulang tulong lang ito na sapat sa dalawang buwan. Sa loob ng panahong ito, hahanap tayo ng paraan para makakuha naman ng pondo para sa mga alternative livelihood programs ninyo habang nililinis pa ang oil spill,” Romualdez said. 

(This is just an initial assistance that will last you two months. During this time, we will look for funds for alternative livelihood programs that you can avail of while the oil spill is being cleared). 

“Kung kukulangin pa ito, tutulong din ang iba pang kasama ko dito sa House of Representatives para magtuloy-tuloy ang ayuda sa inyo habang hindi pa kayo nakakabangon. Gagawin natin ang lahat para makabangon kayo sa trahedyang ito,” added the Leyte 1st district congressman. 

(If this isn't enough, our colleagues here in the House of Representatives will chip in to give you continuous assistance while you are getting back on your feet. We will do everything to help you recover from this tragedy.) 

Accompanying their leaders in their meeting with the Speaker was House Assistant Minority Leader Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas. Brosas was the one who informed Romualdez about the plight of the fishermen. 

Princess Empress, which was carrying 800,000 liters of fuel oil, sank in the waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro last Feb. 28. It caused an ecological disaster in nearby municipalities and provinces. 

The massive oil spill that resulted reportedly affected 193,436 individuals from regions of Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Western Visayas. 

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has already recommended the filing of charges against the owners and crew members of Princess Empress as well as officials and personnel of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). 

The TUPAD fund is allocated by Congress annually in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) to provide livelihood support to disadvantaged and displaced Filipino workers. 

Also present during the meeting were Majority Leader Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos, and Deputy Majority Leader ACT-ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo.

 

Related Tags

oil spill Martin Romualdez
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.