THE provincial government of Bataan will seek compensation from the owner of the tanker MTKR Terranova on behalf of fishermen and others affected by the oil spill caused by the sinking of the vessel.
Arvin Catipon, head of the Bataan Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Office, could not immediately say the amount the provincial government would seek, noting that discussions are still ongoing.
The ill-fated tanker, owned by Shogun Ships Company Incorporated, sank last July 25 off Limay town in Bataan at a depth of 34 kilometers after it was battered by huge waves.
The incident caused part of the 1.4 million industrial fuel it was transporting to leak, affecting the provinces of Bataan and Cavite.
Authorities have contained the oil spill and are doing preparatory works to siphon off the oil still in the eight storage tanks of the vessel.
Twenty-one cities and municipalities of the two provinces have been placed under a state of calamity due to the oil spill, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Last week, Cavite Gov. Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla said Cavite would be seeking at least P10 million per day in compensation from the owner of the MTKR Terranova.
Remulla said the amount is equivalent to the P350 daily wage of residents whose livelihoods were disrupted by the oil spill.
“The directive of our governor, Gov. (Jose Enrique) Garcia, is very clear, which is to look into the implications of the incident,” said Catipon.
Catipon said they have coordinated with the Department of Transportation to help the province with the compensation they will seek.
Asked how much compensation Bataan would seek, Catipon said: “Actually, nothing is definite yet.
“But during our initial discussions, we already discussed the possible compensation for the fisherfolks (who were directly affected) and others who were indirectly affected,” said Catipon.
Last Saturday, the Philippine Coast Guard said 12 of the 24 valves of the storage tanks have been “secured and are leak-free”, meaning the canvass-type caps used to secure them need not be replaced with metal caps.
Of the 12 valves that needed to be sealed with metal caps, six have been capped.
“The installation of metal capping on the final six valves is ongoing,” the PCG said.
Once the installation of the metal caps is done, siphoning off the oil can begin.
Authorities earlier said the plan was to siphon off in five to seven days some 300,000 liters of fuel, which should be enough for the vessel to refloat.
Once refloated, the vessel would be brought ashore where the rest of the oil would be siphoned off.
