A Roman Catholic bishop has called on newly appointed Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Acting Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna to make the agency’s leadership transition meaningful by delivering long-overdue justice to communities hit by the oil spill in the Verde Island Passage (VIP).

On Friday, Feb. 27, President Marcos designated Cuna as acting secretary of the DENR, replacing Raphael Lotilla, who previously headed the agency and has been appointed ambassador to the Holy See.

Bishop Gerry Alminaza, the president of Caritas Philippines, said leadership changes must translate into “moral and political responsibility.”

“We urge acting Secretary Cuna to be true to the mandate of the DENR. Uphold justice, accountability, rehabilitation, and long-term protection for the VIP and the Philippines’ biodiversity as a whole,” he said in a statement.

The bishop noted that three years after the devastating oil spill, fishing communities continue to suffer from its environmental and economic impacts.

“Three years after the devastating oil spill in the Verde Island Passage, fishing communities continue to bear the cost of environmental failure. The seas that once sustained them have not fully recovered. Livelihoods remain fragile. Accountability remains uncertain,” Alminaza said.

“This anniversary is not a commemoration. It is an indictment of delay,” he added.

Alminaza stressed that the oil spill was not an isolated incident but a reflection of systemic weaknesses.

“The oil spill was not an isolated accident. It exposed the vulnerability of communities and the weakness of environmental safeguards,” he said.

“We grieve with communities who suffer the lingering effects of the oil spill. Once-abundant seas that sustained their families now yield only a few kilos of fish a day, barely enough to survive. Fisherfolk and their families bear a burden they had no hand in creating – an injustice imposed upon them by fossil fuel companies, and by environmental policy that allowed polluting activities,” he added.

The bishop said that accountability of erring companies and the reparation owed to affected communities remain elusive, while government bodies tasked to protect the environment have yet to undertake rehabilitation and long-term protection of the VIP.

“All this silence makes our cry for justice even louder.”

On Feb. 28, 2023, the Motor Tanker (MT) Princess Empress sank while carrying 800,000 liters of industrial oil. By March 2023, the spill had reached Verde Island, contaminating mangrove areas and coral reefs in Batangas City and prompting urgent containment measures.