The oil tanker MT Princess Empress that sank and caused an environmental crisis off Oriental Mindoro was already so old it had already been scrapped—but was rebuilt and passed off to the Philippine Coast Guard as brand new, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Thursday. Owing to this, Remulla said the government is eyeing both criminal and civil cases following the sinking of the tanker and the resulting oil spill that is threatening the vital ecosystem of the Verde Island Passage north of where it capsized.

Requejo, R. E., Lopez, V., Ramos-Araneta, M., & Dantes, C. (2023, March 17). Remulla: Oil spill ship rebuilt from scrap, passed off as new. Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.