Advocates seek long-term protection, accountability on unresolved Mindoro oil spill ahead of claims filing deadline

CALAPAN, ORIENTAL MINDORO – Days before the third year since the MT Princess Empress oil spill that devastated Oriental Mindoro, part of the biodiversity hotspot Verde Island Passage (VIP), advocates and fisherfolk groups called for urgent rehabilitation plans and long-term protection for the VIP during the second Sangguniang Panlalawigan committee hearing on oil spill claims.

The hearing was months after the class action lawsuit filed by affected fisherfolk last December 2025, demanding the MT Princess Empress shipowner, RDC Reield Marine Services, charterer and San Miguel Corporation subsidiary SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corporation, and insurer The Shipowners’ Club for just compensation to the economic and ecological damages incurred from the disaster.

“Adequate compensation for affected fishing families is an overdue response to the disaster. At the same time, there should also be conversations about how to ensure that a disaster of that magnitude does not happen again,” said Father Edwin Gariguez, lead convenor of Protect VIP, who was also present at the said meeting. 

An independent study by the sustainability think tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development estimates the spill's economic and environmental damages at ₱41.2 billion. Meanwhile, only 15% of this valuation, or ₱2.7 billion, has been disbursed to affected claimants in the province as of September 2025.

“Sampal sa aming mukha ang hindi sapat na kompensasyong natanggap ng iilan sa amin. Mas malala pa, maraming mga mangingisda ay wala pa ring natatanggap na kabayaran, kahit pa ang kabuhayan namin mismo ang nanganib mula sa limang buwang fishing ban at patuloy na epekto ng spill. Tatlong taon na ay hindi pa rin tuluyang nakakabalik ang dating kinikita namin buwan-buwan, dahil hanggang ngayon ay kakaunti pa rin ang huling isda”, said Aldrin Villanueva, fisherfolk and president of Koalisyon ng mga Mangingisdang Apektado ng Oil Spill (KMAOS).

The committee hearing, presided over by SP Member Manny Buenaventura, surfaced concerns from affected groups across other affected towns, including the lack of legal support for fisherfolk to pursue their claims. “Without legal representation, the rights of the claimants are a mere paper claim. Without action by those in the government, hope becomes false hope. Our people deserve better. They deserve counsel, and they deserve real, not theoretical, justice”, said the board member.

Protect VIP, a network of environmental groups, faith-based organizations, fisherfolk, and sectoral allies, has been leading the charge in calling for the designation of the passage as a marine protected area to minimize industrial operations such as commercial shipping that have brought about the disaster.

“Three years on, fisherfolk still lament the dwindling fish catch from the oil spill, yet we are still not hearing any concrete rehabilitation plans set in place for the polluted waters and damaged ecosystems of the VIP. Worse, the communities still live in fear of similar disasters in the future as the VIP remains unprotected from commercial shipping, fossil gas operations, and other hazardous activities,” said Gariguez.

The meeting aimed to consolidate actions of different municipalities affected by the oil spill, including Gloria, Mansalay, Naujan, Pola, and Calapan, just before the three-year deadline of filing claims according to the Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007 (Republic Act No. 9483). 

“While we call for urgent plans for the recovery of the VIP, we also seek a long-term protective measure to prevent future oil spills or other environmental disasters looming in this marine corridor. Designating VIP as a protected seascape through the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (ENIPAS) is an equally urgent measure to take in discussing actionable plans as we race against the deadline,” he added.

(From left to right: Father Edwin Gariguez, lead convenor of Protect VIP. Aldrin Villanueva, president of KMAOS)