Exactly a year after the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro, Pola fishermen have yet to receive full compensation from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC), a London-based organization that assists member states that suffer from oil spills from tankers.
Only 627 out of around 4,000 fisherfolk in Pola have received the first tranche of the compensation, Pola Mayor Jennifer Cruz confirmed in a message to Rappler. Pola is considered the ground zero of the oil spill.
Aldrin Villanueva, a fishing community leader, said those who received compensation got P14,768 in the first tranche that was distributed only this month.
Each beneficiary stands to receive different amounts, depending on experts’ assessment of the claims submitted by those affected by the oil spill. Villanueva said others were set to receive an average of P54,000.
“Kami ang ground zero, pero kami ang nahuhuli sa bigayan,” Villanueva told Rappler in a phone call. (We’re the ground zero, but we’re the ones left behind when it comes to compensation.)
In the aftermath of the oil spill, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources imposed a fishing ban. The towns of Pola, Pinamalayan and Naujan, due to their vicinity to the sunken tanker, suffered from a prolonged fishing ban in comparison to other municipalities in the province.
It was only in July 2023 – five months after the oil spill – that fisherfolk from the three oil spill-hit towns were permitted to continue fishing. In between, some fishermen opted to help with the clean-up operations led by the Philippine Coast Guard to make money. (READ: Marine life has ways to weather an oil spill. Can we keep up?)
The IOPC provides additional funds for member states in the event the civil liability insurance of the shipowner is not enough to pay for the oil pollution damage.
The Philippines became a member of the IOPC after it ratified two international conventions: the International Convention on Civil Liability Convention for Oil Pollution Damage, and the 1992 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage or 1992 Fund.
At 4:16 am on February 28, 2023, MT Princess Empress was reported half-submerged off the coast of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. It had 20 crew members and spilled most of the 900,000 liters of industrial fuel oil it was carrying.
The next day, the tanker was completely submerged, sending local governments and the Marcos administration scrambling. A few days later, Pola declared a state of calamity. In the aftermath, the black oil spread to other areas, including the biodiverse Verde Island in Batangas, and as far as Taytay, Palawan. Operations to siphon the minimal amount of oil left in the tanker wrapped up in June 2023.
Non-profit organization Center for Ecology, Ecology, and Development (CEED) reported that based on their recent findings, last year’s oil spill damage amounted to P41.2 billion.
CEED’s report extrapolated the weekly income loss of Naujan fisherfolk valued at P3,489.50 to other fishermen affected by the oil spill. Stretching the loss of income for 39 weeks, the report estimated a loss of P1.1 billion in terms of livelihood.