By Cielito M. Reganit
MANILA, Oct. 27 (PNA) – A Partylist lawmaker called on the House Committee on Energy on Monday to conduct a review on the implementation of the Oil Spill Compensation Law due to the non-implementation of the provisions mandating the collection of the Oil Pollution Management Fund (OPMF) even as the law has been enacted some seven years ago.
Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon pointed out through proposed House Resolution 1600 that the lack of implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act No. 9483, or the “Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007,” has led to the non-collection of the OPMF, a fund which could have been used to address cases of oil pollution such as the oil spill in Estancia, Iloilo.
“Several years after the legislation of the Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007, no IRR has been drafted to allow for its full implementation. The unenforced law has failed to immediately address the damage caused by the Power Barge 103 that ran aground the shoreline of Barangay Botongon, Estancia in Iloilo on November 8 last year,” Ridon noted.
The said power barge was moored south of Estancia but was forced loose by the strong winds of Typhoon Yolanda when it struck the province.
Due to the incident, an estimated 800,000 liters of bunker oil spilled into the sea, contaminating marine life and making fishing impossible in the area.
Ridon said that Section 22 of R.A. 9483, which created the OPMF, provides that a 10-centavo fee per liter should be paid for every delivery or transshipment of oil by tanker barges and tanker haulers.
This amount is expected to increase for the succeeding fiscal years after a joint deliberation of concerned government agencies and owners/operators of oil shipping companies.
The said provision mandates the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to administer the OPMF.
Ridon likewise noted that the IRR should have been formulated by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), pursuant to Section 24 of the law.
“However, despite the absence of an IRR, oil companies are duty-bound to set aside ten-centavos per liter for the oil spill fund due to the enactment of the law,” the Partylist lawmaker stressed.
“It is the duty of Congress to determine whether such funds had in fact been set aside by oil companies, including the determination of the actual amounts set aside. Congress must act in haste for the full enforcement of the law to protect and uphold the rights and welfare of its people, especially those affected by oil pollution damages such as the oil spill in Estancia,” Ridon said. (PNA)