MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) will start filing charges against those involved in the illegal operations of the sunken tanker Princess Empress.
“The DOJ will certainly file cases, that’s for sure. It’s just a matter of time. The only reason why we have not filed cases as of now is the conscious decision taken by the task force to ensure that cleanup and retrieval operations be done first,” DOJ Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said at yesterday’s joint inquiry of the House committees on natural resources and ecology on the oil spill from the sunken vessel.
“Nothing is more important than going after those people who are responsible in the issuance of a non-existent (document),” Vasquez said.
Members of the House panel expressed concern on the supposed falsification of documents that allowed the tanker to sail nine times despite the lack of a permit.
The Maritime Industry Authority had earlier told a Senate hearing that Princess Empress did not have a permit to operate in the form of an amendment to its certificate of public convenience.
Meanwhile, the insurance company of the sunken tanker has agreed to cover the cost of retrieving the remaining industrial fuel from the vessel.
Vasquez said Shipowners Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Club notified the DOJ about its readiness to retrieve the fuel from the vessel.
“We are happy to (report) there’s a bright light to this... P&I Club affirmed and sent us a letter confirming its readiness,” he said.
Vasquez said the insurance company signed the contract with Salvor Corp., which will “siphon off the remaining fuel on the hull of Princess Empress.”
The DOJ said it expects retrieval operations to start by June 18.
The vessel was carrying more than 800,000 liters of industrial fuel when it sank off Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 28.
The oil spill has affected the coastlines of several towns in Oriental Mindoro and three barangays in Caluya, Antique.