A network of environmental advocates, civil society, coastal community stakeholders on Friday raised alarm over the threat of another oil spill, as a tanker carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel capsized off the coasts of Limay, Bataan, along Manila Bay, after the onslaught of super typhoon Carina and Habagat.
News of the sunken ship broke out after hours of heavy rains brought massive flooding in Metro Manila and other parts of the country, including the coastal provinces surrounding the marine biodiverse Verde Island Passage (VIP).
“President Marcos showcased the administration’s climate agenda, including adaptation and disaster response, in the recent SONA. Days later, the real state of the nation is already showing. With no time to recover yet from last year’s oil spill and the harsh heat of El Nino, provinces around the Verde Island Passage, along with Metro Manila and many other areas in the country, are now under a state of calamity due to Super Typhoon Carina. Now, another oil spill disaster is also in sight,” said Fr. Edwin Gariguez, Lead Convenor of the Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP) network.
Last year, the Marcos administration faced its “first environmental disaster” after the MT Princess Empress tanker carrying 900,000 liters of oil sank in the Verde Island Passage (VIP), resulting in estimated damages of around 41.2 billion pesos. Similar damages are feared with the threat of another oil spill, potentially the biggest yet in Philippine history.
“MT Terra Nova was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil — even more than the Guimaras oil spill, which was the biggest oil spill disaster in Philippine history. This is already the second massive oil spill under President Marcos’s term, and lessons should have already been learned. We should not let this be another case where polluters escape accountability, as it has so far been the case for RDC and San Miguel Corporation (SMC) last year. At the same time, we need to finally see the measures that should have been set in place after the VIP oil spill finally come to life — from updating of our water quality standards, to strengthening the resilience of coastal communities,” said Gerry Arances, Executive Director of the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED).
Bataan coasts, where the tanker was capsized, hosts several Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and important marine habitats which are now under threat.
“Similar to last year’s oil spill in the rich marine strait Verde Island Passage, this oil spill is also worrisome since the coasts of Bataan houses rich biodiversity as well. The province contains six Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), including one situated directly in Limay. Along with that, the coasts of Limay along with other parts of Bataan, such as Morong and Mariveles, are also nesting sites for threatened species of marine turtles. Given the critical stakes, the DENR should act with urgency to assess the extent of the damage and respond as soon as possible, to prevent further damages in marine life and livelihoods of those dependent on the ocean,” added Arances.
“This state of affairs is a wake-up call that business-as-usual simply does not work in the face of the climate crisis. Maritime activities in all life-sustaining waters in our country should be critically monitored. The massive oil spill in the VIP last year should already be a stark reminder of the threats our coastal communities and marine ecosystems face when the oceans remain unprotected. Now that we are already experiencing severe effects of the climate crisis more than ever, we urge the Marcos administration, along with the DENR, to prioritize stringent environmental protection, including establishing more protected areas, strengthening protection systems in place, and enacting robust climate resilience programs to mitigate impacts of future climate disasters,” Gariguez concluded.