Tanker's permit shown by PCG should be checked: Villar
Senator Cynthia Villar said Sunday that the permit for the motor tanker that caused the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro which was shown by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) after their hearing should be checked.
“How could they have a permit to operate if it was not issued by Marina (Maritime Industry Authority)? Only Marina issues the permit to operate. Why will the Coast Guard say they have a permit?” Villar told dzBB.
“They (PCG and Marina) should talk. If they made a mistake, they should accept it. Because the head of the Coast Guard doesn’t know what’s happening to the personnel below them, right? They should clarify that. I read the report. I will not say anything that is not based on the report. And I confirmed to Marina that they did not have a permit,” she added.
Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Climate Change, presided over a hearing last Tuesday to look into the oil spill incident in Oriental Mindoro.
During the hearing, she read a written report from Marina stating RDC Reield Marine Services, owner of MT Princess Empress which sunk in Oriental Mindoro on February 28, did not have an amended certificate of public convenience (CPC) for the motor tanker.
PCG Vice Admiral Joseph Coyme also revealed that the CPC was left unchecked in tanker's pre-departure checklist.
However, PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo sent a copy of the amended CPC issued by Marina to RDC Reield Marine Services on November 16, 2022, to news organizations late Tuesday after the hearing.
Asked whether the PCG and Marina should be held responsible for allowing the motor tanker to continue operating without a permit, Villar said: “Maybe we will just rely on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) judgment if they have will have responsibilities. I do not want to pre-empt their judgment.”
She said she will also review the possible penalties that could be imposed by the Civil Service Commission since Marina and PCG personnel are government employees.
Villar said a national task force composed of various government agencies was created to help in the oil spill response.
“We created a task force. This will be led by Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez. It was already cleared by Malacañang. And they will be overseeing the different government agencies that will help (those affected by the oil spill,” Villar said over dzBB.
Included in the oil spill response task force are the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, the Department of Health, the Department of Trade and Industry; the Department of Labor and Employment; and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Villar said the Senate will review Republic Act 9483 or the Oil Pollution Compensation Act as a reference for future legislation to improve the country’s oil spill response and to impose stricter penalties for those that caused the incident. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
