Weeks ahead the second anniversary of a devastating oil spill off the coasts of Mindoro, Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP) on Monday called on government agencies to ensure long-term plans for the recovery of the biodiverse marine corridor and impacted communities, and to prevent fossil fuel-related pollution in the VIP.
On February 28, 2023 a tanker carrying 900,000 liters of industrial oil sank off Naujan. The tanker, MT Princess Empress, was owned by RDC Reield Marine Services and chartered by a subsidiary under San Miguel Corporation (SMC).
“It is disheartening to see that one of the largest oil spills in Philippine history seems to be fading out of the spotlight just within two years. We have yet to be assured of long-term rehabilitation plans for coastal and marine ecosystems in the Verde Island Passage and affected communities. Worse, no significant additional protections have been enforced to prevent similar environmental disasters and fossil fuel-related pollution. Ignoring these will lead to compounding and irreversible harm over time,” said Father Edwin Gariguez, lead convenor of Protect VIP.
The oil spill incurred 41.2 billion pesos worth of environmental and socio-economic damages, according to a study by the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED). Today, fisherfolk communities lament lingering harms caused by the oil spill and other developments that heighten threats to their livelihood.
“Dalawang taon na ang nakakalipas ngunit hindi pa rin nanunumbalik ang dating sigla ng dagat. Kumpara sa huli namin noong wala pang oil spill, talagang mahina pa rin ang kita naming mga mangingisda ngayon. Lalo na ngayon at nangangamba kami na mapasok ng commercial na mga barko ang 15-km na municipal waters na para lang dapat sa mga maliliit na mga mangingisda. Hiling namin na sana ay mabigyan ng prayoridad ang mga mangingisda at mabigyan na ng tamang aksyon at rehabilitasyon ang VIP,” said Aldrin Villanueva, President of Koalisyon ng mga Mangingisda Apektado ng Oil Spill (KMAOS).
(“Two years have already passed, but the ocean still hasn’t regained its vitality. Compared to our catch before the oil spill, our income as fisherfolk significantly declined. Especially now, we are worried that commercial vessels might enter the 15-km municipal waters, which should be reserved for small-scale fishers. We hope that us fisherfolk will be given priority and that the VIP will be given proper action and rehabilitation.”)
Communities and environmental advocates have reason to worry about the health of the marine corridor, as the VIP continues to be among the busiest shipping lanes in the country and an epicenter of fossil fuel developments in the Philippines – particularly of expansion plans for fossil gas. Batangas, along the VIP, is host to 5 operating gas power plants, 2 operating LNG terminals, and over a dozen other proposed gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects today.
Threats confronted by the Verde Island Passage are set to be among issues discussed at the 77th Session of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in Switzerland, where the Philippines will be subjected to a review session as party to the ESCR covenant.
“Allowing fossil gas and other destructive operations in the Verde Island Passage is an injustice to the millions of Filipinos who rely on it for a living. It is also an injustice to Filipinos as a whole, whose climate and ecological vulnerabilities are exacerbated by the increasing use of fossil fuels despite the availability of clean energy from renewables,“ said Gerry Arances, Executive Director of CEED, who will be engaging the CESCR process in Geneva this week. (PR)
