Sunken MT Princess Empress (File photo)
MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) will lead government agencies in holding a caravan to assist the oil spill victims in filing claims from the insurance firm of MT Princess Empress that sank off Naujan town, Oriental Mindoro province on Feb. 28 this year.
DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano said the caravan will help in the assessment of insurance claims to determine the extent of the damage of the environmental disaster which arose from the estimated 800,000 liters of fuel which the ill-fated vessel was then transporting.
“Para po mas accurate po ang magiging calculations natin for the claim sa IOPC (This is to make accurate the calculations of our claims from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds),” Clavano said.
The caravan has been scheduled for early October, according to Pola town Mayor Jennifer Cruz who met with DOJ officials on Wednesday.
Cruz said other residents of several towns affected by the oil spill can also go to Pola and the other towns, where the caravan will be undertaken.
She said aside from severely affecting subsistence fishermen's catch, the contamination of groundwater in the area by the oil spill has made life difficult for the towns.
“Three months iyon na pinahinto ng DOH na bawal kaming uminom ng tubig na malapit sa dalampasigan so isa iyon sa kailangan makita doon sa pagki-claim (For three months, the Department of Health banned the use of potable water near the shore, so that is what we want to determine in getting claims),” Cruz said. (PNA)
