Oil spill compensation payment process begins

More than one year after the oil spill from a sunken tanker caused economic devastation in the coastal areas of the province, the affected residents can finally start the process for claiming their respective compensation starting Monday, April 15, the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro (PGOM) said.

Gov. Humerlito Dolor said the compensation is for the damages incurred during the ban on fishing and other water activities after MT Princess Empress sank off the waters of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 28, 2023.

In an advisory posted on his social media page, the governor said that based on the agreement between the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund and the provincial government, the qualified claimants can process the final payment of the compensation beginning on Monday.

The post listed April 15 to 16 as the distribution of letters to the mayors of Bulalacao, Calapan City, Baco, San Teodoro and Naujan, updating the officials of the status of the validation of the claims but will not include the specific dates of the actual release of the actual compensation.

On April 17, letters of assessment will be distributed at the Provincial Capitol Complex but Dolor advised the claimants to wait for confirmation from their respective barangay captains and to not go to the Capitol if no notification was received to prevent overcrowding.

“After April 17, the PGOM will go to the remaining affected barangay (villages) in the province to distribute the letter of assessment and after this is the final compensation. We will start the compensation in the island of Semirara and other island barangay in Bulalacao and Naujan to take advantage of the calm seas,” the post added.

Dolor also encouraged the claimants to wait for the official announcement on the schedule of release and not to believe fake news or hearsay.

Some of the claimants earlier received provisional compensational payment.

In a telephone interview on April 15, 2024, Pola Mayor Jennifer “Ina Alegre” Cruz said that her office has not been informed of the schedule of the PGOM but added that representatives from the IOPC Fund had been in constant communication with her about the compensation.

“We are not aware of the schedule of the provincial government but just last week, I was in a meeting with IOPC Fund representatives in my office,” Cruz said.

Pola is one of the hardest hit by the oil spill where more than 5,000 fishermen and resort owners filed for a compensation claim.