Villar seeks tough probe after Mindoro dredger tragedy

Senator Cynthia Villar on Monday urged regulators to “get serious” about enforcing maritime safety and environmental laws after the dredger MV Hong Hai 16 capsized off Occidental Mindoro last week, killing at least nine crew members and leaving two still missing as of Sunday night.

“Nakakabahala na nangyari ito kahit walang masamang panahon. Dapat masusing tanungin ang kondisyon ng barko, kaligtasan ng operasyon, at ang kalidad ng pagbabantay sa mga dredging activities at sa ating karagatan,” the Senate environment committee chair said, lamenting the loss of life and the threat of another oil spill.

(It is alarming that this happened even in fair weather. We must thoroughly examine the condition of the vessel, the safety of its operations, and the quality of oversight on dredging activities and our seas.)

Coast Guard reports show the 144‑meter dredger rolled over about 100 meters off Barangay Malawaan, Rizal town, on 15 April while loading sand. The ship carried 25 crew members — 13 Filipinos and 12 Chinese nationals.

Fourteen survivors were plucked from the water; divers have since retrieved nine bodies while search‑and‑rescue teams continue to scour the site. Authorities said the vessel had 30,000 liters of diesel and 2,000 liters of lube oil on board, but no slick has been observed so far.

Villar warned that even a minor leak could devastate the rich fishing grounds of Occidental Mindoro and nearby provinces.

"This incident reminds us not only of the 2023 MT Princess Empress oil spill, which severely damaged marine ecosystems and disrupted livelihoods across several provinces," Villar said.

She also cited the capsizing of MT Terra Nova and MTKR Jason Bradley off Bataan in July 2024 — incidents that spilled more than a million liters of oil and triggered allegations of “paihi,” or illegal fuel transfers, that remain unresolved.

“These repeated accidents are setting back our efforts to protect marine biodiversity and ensure food security for millions of Filipinos,” she said, vowing to summon the Philippine Coast Guard, Maritime Industry Authority, and environment officials to a Senate hearing on stricter vessel inspections, dredging permits, and rapid‑response protocols.

The Marine Environmental Protection Enforcement Response Group in Southern Tagalog has taken steps to prevent a possible oil spill. As a precautionary measure, they deployed 250 meters of oil spill boom around the site of the capsized vessel.

The PCG clarified that no visible oil sheen has been detected in the vicinity during their latest surface inspection. The agency emphasized that the vessel was not transporting crude oil at the time of the incident, adding that any automotive oil onboard is likely to evaporate rather than pose a major environmental hazard.