Waiting for SMC’s Godot

As in Samuel Beckett’s play, where Godot never came, the communities affected by the 2023 oil spill off Mindoro still await justice, with the affected fisherfolk revealing that they are still awaiting compensation.

On 9 December 2025, the fisherfolk filed a class suit before the Pinamalayan Regional Trial Court demanding accountability from MT Princess Empress shipowner RDC Reield Marine Services Inc., charterer and San Miguel Corporation subsidiary SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corporation, insurer The Shipowners’ Club, and the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC).

“First of all, what has not changed is the decline in our catch, even after three years. We still clearly feel its impact,” indicated the head of the fishermen’s group. “That is why, until now, we still thirst for justice. Up to this day, many of us have yet to receive any compensation.”

The oil spill was estimated to have cost P41.2 billion in terms of environmental and socio-economic damage, according to a study by energy industry think tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED).

What made the spill’s effect significant was that it disturbed the Verde Island Passage (VIP), which is considered the Amazon of the Oceans.

When there is heavy traffic of ships carrying toxic cargo traversing this marine corridor, there are more chances for such disasters to happen. If this exposure to threats of fossil fuel pollution continues, there is no doubt the VIP will experience more oil spills in the future.

The MT Princess Empress sank on 28 February 2023 off the coast of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

The leak of the 800,000 to 900,000 liters of industrial fuel oil it was carrying led to widespread environmental damage to the VIP.

SMC publicly acknowledged in March 2023 that it was a client of RDC Reield Marine Services.

However, its fuel unit, Petron Corp., denied owning the spilled oil and said that it no longer produced industrial fuel oil.

Under Republic Act 9483, the Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007, primary liability for pollution damage falls on the shipowner, and charterers are generally not required to pay compensation.

Despite this, advocacy groups insisted that SMC, as the charterer, shared moral and practical responsibility for the damage, cleanup, and long-term rehabilitation of the fisherfolk, the waters, and the shore.