Cordova officials, fisherfolk sue two shipping lines for oil spill caused by tragic 2013 ship collision

A Coast Guard representative joins the clean up operation of the oil spill in barangay Buagsong Cordova in this 2013 photo. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)

Fed up waiting to be paid for damage to their coastal villages, Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy and local fishermen yesterday filed a $3 million lawsuit against two shipping companies whose vessels collided a year ago.

They said the oil leak from the sunken MV St. Thomas Aquinas has “irreversibly disrupted” mangroves and Cordova’s marine ecology, on which the local economy depends.

The municipal government of Cordova, together with the Pundok sa mga Mananagat sa Cordova, asked the environment court in Mandaue city to order 2GO Group Inc. and Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp. (formerly Sulpicio Lines) to jointly pay US$3 million or about P132 million for the complete rehabilitation of Cordova’s marine environment.

Fisherfolk are also seeking payment of at least P81 million in damages to cover their “loss of livelihood.”

To compel the shipping lines, they sought a temporary environment protection order (TEPO) to ensure both companies pay for the damage.

The filing of the suit before the Mandaue City Regional Trial Court came two days before the first year anniversary of the collision between the M/V St Thomas Aquinas, a passenger ferry, and cargo ship M/V Sulpicio Express Siete at the approach of the Mactan Channel.

The collision on the night of Aug. 16, 2013 left 116 passengers and crew of the Aquinas dead and 21 others missing. Over 730 were rescued.

There were no casualties in the cargo ship, which sustained a big gash in its bow.

Cordova Mayor Sitoy lamented that the two liners – 2Go Group which owns the Aquinas and the Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp. which owns the Express Siete ignored his calls to account for the damage.

“These two shipping companies have been blaming each other. No one really wants to admit committing any mistake here,” Sitoy told reporters before filing the case.

“We tried to negotiate with them in order to settle issues outside the court but we didn’t see any horizon of settlement. We had no other recourse but to go to court,” said Sitoy, a former law school dean.

The case will be assigned to Judge Mercedita Dadole-Ygnacio of the Mandaue City RTC Branch 28 whose sala is one of two courts designated by the Supreme Court to handle environment cases in Central Visayas.

Also impleaded in the case were the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Lawyer Benjamin Cabrido of the Philippine Earth Justice Center, lead counsel of the fisherfolk, said they want the court to set up a special fund of US$3 million to be sourced by Marina from the protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance cover of the two shipping companies.

“These three government agencies simply didn’t perform their mandate. They just keep on delaying things. So now, we’re asking the court to compel these government agencies to perform their mandate under threat of contempt,” Cabrido said.

The municipality of Cordova will be represented by Provincial Attorney Orvi Ortega.

Cebu Daily News tried to call Dennis Cabanos, counsel of 2GO Group, but he did not respond. A text message sent to his cellphone was also left unanswered.

Span Asia lawyer Jaime Vibar earlier said the oil that leaked into the sea did not come from their vessel, MV Sulpicio Express Siete. He said Cordova go after the 2GO Group.

According to the petition,MV St. Thomas of Aquinas of 2GO Travel was carrying 120,000 liters of bunker fuel, 20,000 liters of diesel fuel and 20,000 liters of lube oil.

The ship’s sinking caused a massive oil spill which destroyed mangroves and polluted the coastline of Cordova town.

Eleven of the 13 barangays in Cordova town were a affected by the oil spill which covered about three hectares and affected the livelihood of about 5,000 fishermen.

For weeks, the town’s fisherfolk and fish vendors were left without livelihood and had to depend on government aid.

Most residents in this 3rd class municipality in Mactan Island earn a living from fishing, shell collecting, and guso (seaweed) farming.

Sitoy said the municipal government continues to assist the affected fisherfolk through cash aid and other forms.

The petition filed yesterday also seeks the creation of a commission or a special task force composed of the DENR, Marina, the coast guard and the municipal government of Cordova town to craft a preliminary action plan to prevent the further degradation of the town’s marine environment.

Cabrido said the coast guard should submit a report on the amount of bunker fuel and oil left inside the sunken vessel.

“We believe there are still remaining bunker fuel and oil in the sunken ship. They may still pose an imminent threat to the marine environment of Cordova and the adjoining coastal towns,” Cabrido said.

The PCG, he said, is mandated by law to administer rules and regulations for the protection of the marine environment and resources from offshore sources of pollution and to develop oil spill response, containment, and recovery capabilities against ship-based pollution.

“While it has done oil spill response actions to the tragedy, its (PCG) containment and recovery efforts to restore the health of petitioner town’s marine ecosystem are still wanting,” said the environment lawyer in its petition for “clean-up, rehabilitation and restoration of the marine ecosystem of Cordova.”

The DENR meanwhile should submit to the court the “latest situationer or preliminary report” as to the extent of the damage of the oil spill and conduct “programmatic studies” for the complete rehabilitation of the affected marine areas.

“While its reaction to the subject environmental catastrophe by coming up with a technical assessment as to the extent of the damage may be laudable, it is still short of what is expected of it under the law and the rules,” he said.

Cabrido also lashed at MARINA for its “silence” and said it has a duty to make sure that the two shipping companies first secure P&I insurance otherwise they should not be allowed to operate in the country.

“Marina’s eerie silence to this ecological castastrophe is quite disturbing. It is remiss in its duty to exact compliance from private shipping companies and worse it fails to coordinate or disclose this vital information to petitioners in order to help them contain the damage wrought by this tragic event,” he said.

Eddie Llamedo, DENR 7 spokeman, yesterday said the agency will cooperate with any court order.

“In fact, DENR 7 (earlier) made a demand of P41.7 million to those two shipping companies. We can help him strengthen his (Sitoy) case with our mangroves assessment. We will use the computation of P41.7 million as damage compensation,” he said in a text message to CDN.

“In the meantime, we’ll file our comments in the appropriate time or as soon as we get hold of the order,” he added.

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