Cong'l probe on oil spill victims reparation sought
Lawmakers are seeking a congressional investigation on alleged government inaction on insufficient reparations of victims of the massive oil spill on Guimaras Island two years ago.
House Resolution 830 filed on October 8 directs the House committee on natural resources to conduct an investigation on the payments of an international insurance company for damages suffered by thousands of Guimarasnons.
The resolution was filed by Party-list Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna, Luzviminda Ilagan and Liza Maza of Gabriela and Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis.
In their resolution, the congressmen said thousands of residents of the island-province were dislocated after the M/T Solar I sank off the coast of Guimaras on August 11, 2006, spilling 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel it was carrying for Petron Corp.
The oil spill also contaminated marine resources and affected the livelihood of residents on the island and in nearby Iloilo province who were mostly dependent on fishing.
Scientists last year reported a 65 percent drop in fish catch after the oil spill and hundreds of mangrove trees have died.
The congressmen also cited a report of a Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI) to investigate the oil spill which stated that Petron Corp., which chartered the vessel, and the Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. (SMDC), the tanker's owner, had overloaded the M/T Solar 1 when the tanker sailed into the middle of a storm.
The giant oil firm has repeatedly denied culpability in the incident saying it only chartered the vessel to transport is bunker fuel.
The London-based International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF), which indemnifies victims of oil spills, had paid compensation for damages to victims, including fishermen, shell gatherers, boat owners and operators of resorts.
The IOPCF paid a total of P908,120,203 to 22,437 claimants as compensation for economic losses and refund for expenses in the clean-up and preventive measures in relation to the oil spill, according to the Fund's 2007 annual report.
But the IOPCF had rejected nearly 133,000 other claims including 125,480 victims in Guimaras and 7,416 victims in Iloilo.
In rejecting the claims, the IOPCF had cited lack of evidence to back up claims and because the claim forms were incomplete and a significant number were from claimants below the age of 18, the minimum age of which one may be allowed to engage in fishing.
Guimaras Gov. Felipe Nava earlier said they are still following up the remaining claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses from the IOPCF. But they have not received any response from the insurance firm.
The proposed resolution also pointed out that out of the P906,669,648 paid by the IOPCF, 80 percent (P725,317,664) was in refunds for clean-up and preventive measures. Only 19 percent (P174,176,143) was spent for the payment of economic losses in the fishery sector and another P2,186,658 for losses in the tourism sector.
The congressmen said in their resolution that non-government organizations have questioned the IOPCF for allowing Petron Corp. to be reimbursed P118 million for the costs of the clean up when "it (Petron) should have been compelled to compensate the victims and shoulder the clean up and rehabilitation of the Guimaras Strait."