Pia: Sulpicio, Del Monte must shoulder cost of retrieving toxic substance
Senator Pia S. Cayetano today said Sulpicio Lines and Del Monte Philippines must take the initiative of shouldering the cost of government efforts to ensure that the best available methods are employed to safely and immediately retrieve the 10 metric tons of endosulfan from the capsized vessel MV Princess of the Stars.
Cayetano made the statement before reporters in Cagayan de Oro City in Northern Mindanao where she visited for a series of talks over the weekend. The region is home to Del Monte's vast pineapple plantation in Bukidnon province where the highly toxic pesticide was reportedly headed, according to local reports.
"Finger-pointing by Del Monte, Sulpicio and maritime authorities won't help. The situation calls for a quick response to retrieve the substance and avert any contamination of the surrounding seawaters and marine life," said Cayetano, who chairs the senate environment committee.
She recalled a similar situation at the height of the Solar I Oil Spill in 2006, where Petron initially balked at taking responsibility by denying any legal liability for cleaning up thousands of liters of oil which leaked off the Guimaras Strait from its hired tanker, MV Solar I.
The incident led to the passage a law mandating a quick response fund to address oil spills, the Oil Spill Liability Act (Republic Act 9483) which Cayetano sponsored in the Senate.
She said maritime authorities and concerned agencies including the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) and Bureau of Customs should explain why they allowed a highly toxic substance be loaded on a passenger vessel—apparently in violation of maritime rules, she added.
"We need to find out exactly what regulations do we have and what violations have been committed, including the reported non-declaration of the substance and transport in big quantities on board a passenger ship. We should also look at the corresponding penalties to find out if these are commensurate. Because these are old laws and the penalties are very minimal."
"Definitely on the part of the Senate, we can start an independent investigation to find out our level of compliance with international standards. But the first thing we must do is gather from the concerned government agencies whatever information they can give us."
She pointed out that Sulpicio even declares on its website that it meets the requirements of the International Quality Assurance Management Standard ISO 9002 and the International Maritime Organization's ISM Code of 'Safe Operation of Ships and Pollution Prevention.'
"Interestingly, Sulpicio acquired these two international accreditations on June 18, 1999 and July 17, 1999, respectively—or just barely a year since its biggest ship then, the MV Princess of the Orient, sank in the middle of a storm on September 1998."
"It's the height of irony that Sulpicio was the very first local shipping line to be accorded such distinction despite its long and bloody record of sea mishaps, which is unparalleled in the world."
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Mon Jun 30, 2008 7:50 pm