Marcos on oil spill: 'Pananagutin natin ang may sala'

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday said individuals supposedly involved in the oil spill incident involving motor tanker Terranova as well as sunken MTKR Jason Bradley and MV Mirola 1 will be held accountable.

In his speech during the distribution of aid to those affected by the oil spill in Navotas City, Marcos said authorities are determining if the vessels were related to oil smuggling.

“Sa usapin naman ng imbestigasyon, tuloy-tuloy ang paghahanap natin ng sagot sa mga katanungang: May kinalaman ba ang mga barkong ito sa oil smuggling?” Marcos said.

(When it comes to the investigation, we continue to look for answers if the ship were involved in oil smuggling.)

“Bakit ang dalawang barko, sa kabila ng walang rehistro ay napatakbo sa ating karagatan?” he added. “Lahat ito ay iniimbestigahan para tiyakin na pananagutin natin ang mga may sala.”

(Why did the two vessels are able to operate despite not being registered. We are investigating this to ensure that all those involved will be held accountable.)

The Presidential Communications Office said Jason Bradley and Mirola were initially found lacking authorization to operate.

The Philippine Coast Guard earlier said the oil siphoning operations for sunken MT Terranova have been extended to Friday to ensure that all oily waste is collected.

The PCG said that from August 19 to September 10, a total of 1,384,211 liters of oily waste have been collected from MTRK Terranova, which was carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil when it sank in late July.

A crew member died in the incident.

Marcos also distributed financial aid to 10 select beneficiaries from Navotas and turned over a check worth P43.415 million to the city government. — RSJ/VBL, GMA Integrated News