2 years later, Mindoro fishers push anew for oil spill compensation

“Two years is already long overdue. We call on the IOPC, RDC Reield Marine Services, Inc., San Miguel Corporation and its subsidiary, to give the affected fisherfolk the compensation that they deserve.”

ALBAY — Fishers in Mindoro province are still waiting for fair compensation two years after the oil spill incident in the Verde Island Passage (VIP), prompting affected fisherfolk to file a new demand letter with the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds.

Intergovernmental organizations, such as the IOPC, collect funds from entities involved in sea oil transport of more than 150,000 tonnes per calendar year in order to provide safety nets for oil spill victims. According to a 2024 report, the MT Princess Empress oil tanker that capsized in Naujan town, Oriental Mindoro, in February 2023 affected around 20,000 families and more than 20 marine protected areas, with damages to fisheries alone reaching P3.8 billion pesos ($68.3 million dollars). 

The VIP’s presence in the megadiverse Coral Triangle, which spans six countries, including the Philippines, raises the stakes even further. 

“Two years is already long overdue. We call on the IOPC, RDC Reield Marine Services, Inc., San Miguel Corporation and its subsidiary, to give the affected fisherfolk the compensation that they deserve,” lead convenor of Protect VIP Father Edwin Gariguez said in a statement.

While Gariguez noted that the compensation received by some was a reprieve, it was insufficient to cover the full extent of the damage, including the lingering economic and environmental burdens caused by the oil spill, which he said will likely last for years.

According to Aldrin Villanueva, president of the Koalisyon ng mga Mangingisda Apektado ng Oil Spill, not everyone was compensated, and those who have, used the money to pay off debt. “It’s not enough for the period that we lost income, and even though the oil spill happened two years ago, our catch still hasn’t returned to normal.”

Studies conducted by think tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development in 2024 revealed that the water quality in the VIP’s oil spill-affected marine protected areas did not meet DENR standards. 

Ivan Andres, CEED’s Deputy Head of Research and Policy, warned that the oil spill’s long-term effects may continue to endanger marine life and the VIP’s ecosystem integrity in the absence of holistic and sustained rehabilitation programs, as well as stringent measures to limit marine pollution threats in the VIP. 

While local governments such as Pora, the oil spill’s ground zero town, commit to ending fossil fuel use in their jurisdiction, beginning with the installation of a solar-powered water pump in Barangay Batuhan, the national government supports more oil and gas development projects to power the country with liquified natural gas, which is also a type of fossil fuel. 

According to Sky Truth, the conservation technology company that published the same report above, the planned expansion in the country, coupled by existing ones, could affect 250,000 square kilometers of sensitive marine areas like the VIP.

“One cannot even begin to imagine just how catastrophic impacts of fossil fuel expansion of this scale will be for nature and local communities,” Gariguez warned. (RVO)

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