Senators on Friday said officials of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) should be held liable, along with the owners of the sunken MT Princess Empress for the oil spill that wreaked havoc on the fishing villages and the marine ecosystem in Oriental Mindoro. Senator Francis Escudero suspected that officials of the two state agencies may have been bribed by RDC Reield Marine Services Inc. to let the ill-fated ship set sail without the required certificate of public convenience from Marina. “We have to dig deeper, especially on the side of Marina insofar as their accreditation procedure and personnel are concerned,” Escudero told reporters.

Ramos, M. (2023, March 20). 'PCG, Marina accountable for Or. Mindoro oil spill'. Panay News, pp. 7, 15.