Two east-facing provinces have almost simultaneously suffered, and continue to suffer, gut-wrenching tragedies that may serve as turning points to their respective destinies. I am referring to Oriental Mindoro and Negros Oriental — the former suffering a catastrophic oil spill from a sunken tanker, while the latter had its incumbent governor attacked and killed, along with eight others — both incidents capturing the attention of the President, Congress, and national media.
Last 28 February, the MT Princess Empress sank off the coast of Oriental Mindoro, releasing 800,000 liters of industrial oil. The ship was on its way to Iloilo when it ran into intense waves. All of its crew were saved by a nearby passenger boat. The company that owns the ship, RDC Reield Marine Services, will also be in deep water, financially, if it fails to handle this correctly. There was a report the oil tanker was insured for $1 billion but this has yet to be verified. Another report said experienced companies have been contracted to help in the cleanup.
Time is of the essence in this catastrophe. Environmental safety is our primordial concern since we are talking about the massive destruction of the province’s coral reefs and fisheries. For a province whose livelihood is heavily dependent on fishing and tourism, the oil spill may have effectively wiped out all major sources of income.
The national government has stepped up, with President Bongbong Marcos Jr. deploying the Philippine Coast Guard and the DENR, and the DSWD for cash assistance. Moreover, local folks have gotten sick from the oil, the mere scent of it causing intense nausea.
Someone must pay for this, and the responsibility ultimately lies with the shipper. The mayor of the affected municipality, Pola, has threatened to file a case against RDC Reield and she has a right to do so. If we were in the United States, law firms would be scrambling to prepare a class action suit that may end the corporate life of RDC and make its owners and ship captain criminally liable. But in the Philippines, we can expect RDC to come up with a huge settlement that may likely be accepted by our poor countrymen whose backs are now against the wall because of this terrible disaster.
Over in Negros Oriental, there was the murder on 4 March of incumbent Governor Roel Degamo in his very home. The entire attack sequence was captured on CCTV and then shared online. It is unthinkable how such a brazen act could be carried out in front of many witnesses, some of whom were harmed as well. The way the perpetrators acted, it was obvious they were used to these operations. Unfortunately for them, they were not trained enough in extraction and some of them were quickly caught.
Governor Degamo’s wife, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, immediately pointed to politics as the main reason for the murder. Everyone knows the Degamos’ political rivals — the Teves family. At the time of the killing, Rep. Arnie Teves was conveniently in the US for a stem cell operation.
Teves taped a video denying any participation in the killing, but hinted that Governor Degamo should never have been proclaimed. He referred to the recent election in which Degamo ran against Rep. Arnie’s brother, Henry, but lost initially. However, since another candidate named “Ruel” Degamo was allowed to run but was later declared a nuisance candidate, votes for “Ruel” were counted in favor of “Roel,” thus paving the way for the victory of the assassinated governor.
These two tragic events highlight the complex local problems our President faces. He has spoken on both, giving good answers that show the importance of the resolution of each. It is now up to the actual government response on whether acceptable results will come to fruition.
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