Heads will roll for Bataan oil spill – Marcos Jr.

MANILA, Philippines — Persons who committed wrongdoings that led to the oil spill off the coast of Bataan would be held accountable, President Marcos said yesterday, as he led the distribution of aid to sectors affected by the disaster.

Speaking to oil spill-hit residents of Navotas, Marcos said authorities are determining whether the motor tankers that sank last July are into smuggling.

“With regard to the investigation, we continue to look for an answer to the question: are these vessels involved in oil smuggling?” Marcos said.

“Why did the two vessels sail into our seas even if they are not registered?” he added.

In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) quoted Marcos as saying that heads would roll among government officials involved in the oil spill.

Earlier this month, Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez told a news forum in Quezon City that authorities had noticed “red flags” in the oil spill that involved MT Jason Bradley, MV Mirola 1 and MT Terra Nova.

According to him, Jason Bradley has a pending case on oil smuggling at the justice department. Jason Bradley and Mirola 1 were also unregistered. Vasquez also pointed out that MT Terranova sailed for 26 hours but travelled a distance of only three nautical miles.

Valves from Terra Nova have been sealed, while the containment of oil leakage has been successful so far, the PCO said in a statement. More than 1.38 million liters of oil were collected from the vessel between Aug. 19 and Sept. 10.

Some 1.22 million liters of oil had been transported to a waste management facility in Marilao, Bulacan, for proper disposal as of Sept. 6. The contracted salvor for Jason Bradley has mobilized its pumps and has begun installing siphoning pipes. Mirola, meanwhile, was moored at a shipyard in Mariveles.

Marcos provided nearly P65.2 million in financial aid to 8,693 fisherfolk and their families in Navotas City who were affected by the oil spill. Each of the beneficiaries was supposed to receive P5,000 but the President increased the amount to P7,500.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources also carried out livelihood interventions like the distribution of post-harvest materials, capacity-building, replacement of nets for mussel culture, Kadiwa program and fuel subsidies.

The agency also distributed 50 sets of bottom-set gill nets and two units of fish processing utensils. The Office of Speaker Martin Romualdez, meanwhile, provided 10 kilograms of rice to each beneficiary.