Senate urged to pass oil pollution bill

The Senate was urged yesterday to pass an anti-oil pollution bill in the wake of the Guimaras oil contamination that is destroying the environment not only in that province but in neighboring areas as well.

In making the appeal, Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas said the House passed Bill 4363, or the proposed Oil Pollution Compensation Act, on Nov. 14, 2005 and transmitted it to the Senate that same month.

It has since been awaiting the senators’ action, he said.

The measure, principally authored by Bataan Rep. Antonino Roman, seeks to incorporate as part of Philippine law the provisions of the 1992 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage and the 1992 International Convention on the Establishment of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPCF).

Under the bill, owners of ships that "cause pollution damage or create a grave and imminent threat of causing such damage" would be liable for expenses incurred in cleanup operations at sea or on shore, costs for preventive measures, loss of earnings suffered by owners or users of contaminated areas, damage to human health or loss of life, and environmental damage and cost of rehabilitation and restoration.

Gullas, who is also a House deputy majority leader, said despite the enactment of the Clean Water Act of 2004, which lays down the principle that "polluters must pay," the proposed Oil Pollution Compensation Act must be approved "to effectively enforce liability claims and penalties."

He said the measure would require entities that haul oil in Philippine waters to contribute to the IOPCF.

"In the case of the massive oil spill from the ill-fated MT Solar I in Guimaras, we were lucky that Petron Corp. has been pitching in to the IOPCF. Otherwise, the parties ruined by the spill would have trouble getting immediate and adequate compensation," he said.

The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund is part of an international regime of liability and compensation for oil spill damage. Under this scheme, the owner of a tanker and/or its insurer is liable up to a certain limit for damage following a spill. If that amount does not cover all admissible claims, further compensation is available from the IOPCF.

The fund is financed by levies on certain types of oil carried by sea. Petron earlier said the fund would make available a total of $315 million to cover "pollution damage" as a result of the Guimaras incident. The amount would cover cleanup costs, spoiled property and consequential losses.

Bill 4363 also defines the liability of ship owners in maximum amounts based on international standards, and depending on the volume of oil discharged and the vessel’s gross tonnage.

It requires a compulsory insurance system for ship owners to cover potential oil spill damage. It would ban from Philippine waters ships carrying over 2,000 tons of oil without valid financial security. — Jess Diaz