An environmental group haled the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for negligence over the protection of the Verde Island Passage or VIP, a resource-rich strait that separates the islands of Luzon and Mindoro.

The VIP is considered the Amazon of the Seas due to its diverse marine life.  

The ecological group Protect VIP and other groups sought a writ of continuing mandamus with the Court of Appeals against the DENR to force the agency into issuing guidelines for a so-called Declaration of Non-Attainment Area.

A continuing mandamus is a writ issued by a court in an environmental case directing any agency to perform an act or series of acts decreed by final judgment.

Father Edwin Gariguez, lead convenor of Protect VIP, reminded DENR of its responsibility to designate the waters of VIP as non-attainment areas that will bar certain vessels with hazardous cargo, such as fuel, from sailing in them.

The VIP was placed at risk of an environmental disaster after an oil spill last February spread off Mindoro with the sinking of oil carrier MT Princess Empress, a chartered ship of conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

Gariguez said DENR gave empty assurances that it would provide copies of the guidelines once these have been issued.

The agency's inaction, thus, is endangering the passage and communities near it as vessels carrying the toxic cargo increase with the existence of sailing frequency to supply nearby power plants.

Health risks growing

"The high concentrations of pollutants, such as oil and grease, in coastal waters can impact the fish, corals, and other aquatic organisms and can also pose a health risk to humans exposed directly or through contaminated fish," according to Ivan Andres, Deputy Head for Research and Policy of think tank Center for Energy, Ecology and Development, or CEED, said.

"The longer the subject waters remain unprotected and exposed to pollution, the more likely the damage and deterioration to these areas may be irreparable," Andres added.

 Fisherfolks lamented the decline of fish catch, citing the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro and the proliferation of gas plants nearby.

"They are killing our livelihood, but we need to fight back not only for our family but also for the country's marine resources. Hopefully, the DENR provides the light," said Sanny Tayco, council member of Lima (Bataan) for VIP, a coalition of fisherfolks in five provinces of the VIP.