A citizens’ coalition advocating for the protection of the biodiversity-rich Verde Island Passage (VIP) has urged the provincial government of Occidental Mindoro to push for sustained environmental rehabilitation and full accountability for the massive oil spill that hit the province’s waters nearly three years ago. The group Protect VIP— composed of fisherfolk, civil society organizations, and religious, youth and labor groups—submitted on Tuesday a position paper to the provincial board, lamenting how “justice and recovery remain incomplete” years after their communities suffered from the impact of the dumping of some 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil when MT Princess Empress sank off Naujan town on Feb. 28, 2023.

Virola, M. T. (2026, February 5). Mindoro execs pressed to back full rehab of areas hit by oil spill. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A7.