Mayor Suan: ₱20M oil spill compensation for Cordova remains intact

Cordova Mayor Cesar “Didoy” Suan / CDN File Photo

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — The ₱20 million compensation paid by two shipping companies to the Municipality of Cordova and its fisherfolk has remained intact.

This was clarified by Mayor Cesar “Didoy” Suan amidst the spread of misinformation alleging that the said amount was used by the mayor and his team from the “Asenso Cordovanhons” for their campaign during the midterm elections.

To recall, in 2013, MV St. Thomas Aquinas of 2Go Shipping and MV Sulpicio Express Siete of Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp. (PSACC), formerly Sulpicio Lines, collided and leaked oil, damaging the town’s marine environment.

In 2014, the municipal government, under then-Mayor Adelino Sitoy, together with affected fisherfolk, filed a multi-million-peso damage suit against the two shipping companies, demanding a joint payment of $3 million for the full rehabilitation of Cordova’s marine ecosystem.

However, the shipping companies negotiated a settlement and agreed to pay only ₱10 million each, for a total of ₱20 million.

Of this amount, ₱7 million from each company — a total of ₱14 million — was allocated to the municipal government, while the remaining ₱3 million from each, or ₱6 million in total, was designated for the affected fisherfolk.

On Monday, May 19, 2025, during the flag-raising ceremony, municipal treasurer Jaime Sumagang stated that the amount was deposited in the bank under the town’s general and trust funds.

He said that 2Go paid its ₱10 million share in March 2024, while PSACC completed its ₱10 million payment just this March.

“So katong giingon nila nga nahurot, wala gyud nahurot. Wala pod hilabti,” Sumagang said. (So when they said the money was used up — it was not used up at all. It was not touched.)

Mayor Suan, for his part, explained that they haven’t distributed the amount for the fisherfolks, since PSACC just recently completed its payment.

“Ang kwarta dili pa nato mahilabtan, dili pa nato magamit, bisan ug usa ka tuig na, tungod kay duna pata’y lain nga pending case sa usa ka barko kay duha mani ka barko. So mana ug negotiate ang 2Go ug ang nakig-negotiate and Sulpicio. Mao to nga this year, atong nasabutan na gyud ug na-negotiate ug pag-last March, nihatag pod sila (ang Sulpicio) ug P7 million para sa munisipyo ug ang P3 million para sa mga mananagat,” Suan explained.

(We still cannot touch or use the money, even though it’s already been a year, because there is still another pending case involving one of the ships — since there were two ships involved. 2Go already negotiated, and Sulpicio also entered into negotiations. So this year, we finally reached an agreement, and last March, Sulpicio gave ₱7 million for the municipality and ₱3 million for the fisherfolk.)

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