Guimaras Oil Spill

(Petron Corporation)
 What happened?
-the oil tanker M/T Solar 1 sank
off the coast of Guimaras and
Negros islands in the
Philippines
-August 11,2006
 Causes of the Oil Spill
1.Bad weather

2.Overloading

3.The Ship and the Captain was not

qualified to sail
Environmental laws violated
1.PD 979 “Marine Pollution Decree of
1976”
SECTION 4. Prohibited Acts
a. discharge, dump or suffer, permit the discharge
of oil, noxious gaseous and liquid substances and
other harmful substances from or out of any ship,
vessel, barge, or any other floating craft, or other
man-made structures at sea, by any method,
means or manner, into or upon the territorial and
inland navigable waters of the Philippines
 2. RA 9275-”Philippine Clean Water Act of
2004”

Chapter 5
Section 27.Prohibited Acts
a) Discharging, depositing or causing to be deposited
material of any kind directly or indirectly into the
water bodies or along the margins of any surface
water, where, the same shall be liable to be washed
into such surface water, either by tide action or by
storm, floods or otherwise, which could cause water
pollution or impede natural flow in the water body
 Effects

-Takong Island National Marine Reserve was damaged.

-Casualties-1 died and 2 missing
-Affected 20 communities in 4 municipalities in Guimaras,27
communities in Iloilo and 17 others in Negros Occidental.
-the disaster have damaged the reefs and mangroves,
scarring the ecosystem and marine life.
-impact of the livelihood of the fishermen, mostly living in
poor conditions.
Penalties/Sanctions/Punishments
/Consequences
1.Penalties stemmed from Republic Act (RA) 9275
or the Clean Water Act of 2004
Under Sec. 28 of the law, the DENR secretary
can fine an offender "for every day of violation.“
-"Failure to undertake clean-up operations, willfully,
or through gross negligence, shall be punished by
imprisonment of not less than two years
and not more than four years and a fine not
less than P50,000 and not more than
P100,000 per day for each day of violation
"If the failure or refusal results in serious injury or
loss of life and/ or irreversible water contamination
of surface, ground, coastal and marine water, it shall
be punished with imprisonment of not less
than six years and one day and not more
than 12 years, and a fine of P500,000 per
day for each day during which the omission and/
or contamination continues," the law stated.
 2.Penalties stemmed from PD 979
SECTION 7. Penalties for Violations.
-Any person who violates Section 4 of this Decree or any
regulations prescribed in pursuance thereof, shall be liable
for a
fine of not less than Two Hundred
Pesos nor more than Ten Thousand Pesos
or by imprisonment of not less than thirty
days nor more than one year or both such fine
and imprisonment, for each offense, without prejudice to the
civil liability of the offender in accordance with existing laws.
-Any vessel from which oil or other harmful substances are
discharged in violation of Section 4 or any regulation
prescribed in pursuance thereof, shall be liable for the
penalty of fine specified in this section, and clearance of
such vessel from the port of the
Philippines may be withheld until the fine
is paid.
-In addition to the penalties above-prescribed, the Philippine
Coast Guard shall provide in its rules and regulations such
reasonable administrative penalties as may
be necessary for the effective implementation of this decree.
 Other Prescribed Penalties
 The Board of Marine declared
Immediate grounding of the two sister
vessels of oil tanker M/T Solar
 -not allow them to operate until the
probe on the sinking is over
 Petron for its counterpart in the cleaning
program-P 2.2M
 Petron for its counterpart in the
livelihood program
3.Clean up Operation