Local authorities models which might be affected by the huge oil spill from MT Princess Empress should compel the shipowner to pay for the damages to their communities, Senator Jinggoy Estrada stated.
“Kailangan siguro nating singilin o habulin yung could ari ng barko. Marami uncooked mga ‘di kumpletong dokumento… Maybe, the local government unit of Oriental Mindoro, ‘yung mga nabiktima na local government units kailangan siguro sulatan to compel them to pay for the damages that have been done,” Estrada said in an online interview.
(Maybe we need to ask the owner of the ship to pay. It was reported that there were missing documents for its operation. Maybe, the local government unit of Oriental Mindoro, the other local government that are victims of this oil spill should write to compel the owners to pay for the damages that have been done.)
Estrada sits as member of both the Senate environment committee and the local government panel.
At a Senate hearing last Tuesday, Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito Dolor disclosed that there was no direct assistance to affected residents from RDC Reield Marine Services—the company who owns the sunken MT Princess Empress.
It was also disclosed during the hearing that Pola, Oriental Mindoro Mayor Jennifer Cruz refused to get help from the company because of the latter’s delayed response to their queries concerning the help to affected residents.
Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian expressed concern over a potential fish scarcity and livelihood lack of Oriental Mindoro residents amid the oil spill.
In an announcement, Gatchalian stated fish manufacturing is predicted to say no because the oil spill in Mindoro has already reached Antique, Palawan and will presumably attain Romblon and Aklan that are additionally recognized for his or her tourism.
“It would take us some time to recover from the horrendous impact of this incident, not only on the environment and the livelihood of our people including those in the tourism industry, and thus, we should extend whatever assistance we can give to help alleviate the plight of those affected by the oil spill,” Gatchalian stated.
The senator is scheduled to go to a number of municipalities in Oriental Mindoro to increase help within the province on Friday. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
