Group slams IOPC for paying Petron P118M for Guimaras oil spill cleanup

September 11th, 2007 by Site Administrator

MILITANT fisherfolks on Monday slammed the International Oil Pollution Board (IOPC) for awarding P118 million to Petron Corp. to cover for the expenses incurred by the oil giant in cleaning up the oil spill off Guimaras Island, while rejecting the claims of close to 100,000 victims of the oil spill.

They argued that Petron Corp., along with Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., is responsible for the oil spill that made lives miserable to hundreds of thousands of small fishermen and residents of Guimaras and Panay Island as a result of the destruction of mangrove areas and other marine life in Guimaras Strait, and thus does not deserve compensation or the right to claim for damages.

The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), along with its local chapters and affiliate in Iloilo, wrote a letter to the IOPC assailing its decision to pay back or reimburse Petron Corp. of the expenses it allegedly incurred.

The group said the IOPC should take back the P118 million in total claims the oil compensation group had awarded to Petron Corp. and instead use this amount to pay for the damage claims made by affected fisherfolk and residents.

“Where in this part of the planet did the IOPC get its horrible idea that Petron Corp. should be reimbursed for the costs of the clean-up? The oil pollution group, during the 37th session of the Executive Committee held from June 12 to 15, 2007 reported that Petron’s claim initially pegged at P196 million were provisionally assessed for a total of P118 million, or roughly equivalent to €1.25 million, and that interim payment for that amount had been made by the IOPC,” Fernando Hicap, chairman of Pamalakaya, said.

Hicap said the decision to pay Petron’s damage claim is “a direct assault to the people’s quest for truth, justice and fair play.”

Hicap said Petron Corp, along with Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., the owner of M/T Solar 1 that caused the oil spill should be held liable for the biggest oil spill disaster ever recorded in recent history. 

“We keep on asking why the IOPC still decided to give Petron a lion’s share of claims drawn against the insurance of Sunshine Maritime Development Corp.,” Hicap said.

According to Hicap, the act of IOPC granting the request of Petron for the costs of the oil spill cleanup almost absolved Petron of its crime against the people and the environment.

Hicap reminded the IOPC of the findings of the Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI).

Last February, the SBMI created a special body to determine the circumstances surrounding the sinking of M/T Solar 1, which was carrying 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel when it sunk nine miles southwest of Guimaras Island on August 11 last year.

“The body found out that the oil tanker was overloaded. There were lapses and incompetence on the part of vessel’s crew. The M/T Solar 1 captain Norberto Aguro was not a licensed oil tanker master, which led him to violate and disregard regulations, policies and requirements for seaworthiness,” Hicap said.

“The owner of M/T Solar 1 and Petron Corp. were declared liable for overloading the vessel. These findings were upheld by the Philippine Senate, when it conducted an inquiry last year,” he said.

Hicap said Petron and Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. were guilty of violating several environmental laws, including, but not limited to, Clean Air Act of 1999, Clean Water Act of 2004 and Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. (Jonathan Mayuga. Business Mirror, September 11, 2007)