Oriental Mindoro oil spill (Bongbong Marcos/Twitter)

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan commended the Department of Justice (DOJ) after it pressed criminal charges against the owners of the M/T Princess Empress--the vessel that caused the massive oil spill in Oriental Mindoro last year.

In a statement on Sunday, Feb. 18, Yamsuan says the DOJ’s recommendation to indict the ship owners sends a “clear and strong message that abuses committed by companies that put profit over compliance of the law and the safety of the environment will not go unpunished".

“We commend the DOJ under Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla for holding accountable those responsible for this massive environmental disaster that affected over 75 kilometers of our coastlines and robbed tens of thousands of families of their means of livelihood,” the neophyte lawmaker said.

On Feb. 28, last year, the M/T Princess Empress capsized off the coast of Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro. The ship’s cargo was about 800,000 liters of industrial oil. 

The oil spill removal and clean-up efforts lasted almost four months in what was touted as one of the country’s worst environmental catastrophes. Evironmentalists still warn of the oil spill’s lingering effects.

Two weeks before the anniversary of the Mindoro oil spill, Remulla approved the recommendation of a DOJ panel of prosecutors to indict the corporate officers of RDC Reield Marines Services, Inc., the shipping company that owns M/T Princess Empress; an employee of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA); and a private individual. 

The criminal charges shall include multiple counts of falsification of private documents, use of falsified documents, and multiple counts of falsification of public or official documents.

Yamsuan, a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources which investigated the 2023 oil spill, said authorities should also look into making the ship owners pay compensatory damages to fisherfolk and other workers who were rendered jobless for several months due to the sea mishap. 

“Almost a year after the incident, the people of the town of Pola in Oriental Mindoro, the area most adversely affected by the oil spill, continue to struggle from the impact of the disaster,” he said. 

According to estimates by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the oil spill has affected the livelihood of more than 40,000 families and exposed about P7 billion worth of marine resources to its ill effects.

Aside from Oriental Mindoro, the provinces of Palawan, Antique, and Batangas were also affected by the oil spill. 

Traces of oil spill from the sunken vessel had even reached Verde Island in Batangas City, which is at the heart of the Verde Island Passage—the site recognized as one of the world’s most critical marine biodiversity centers.