Fisherfolk class suit on Verde Island Passage oil spill moves forward

Last March, the class suit filed by fisherfolk to seek accountability for the 2023 oil spill in the Verde Island Passage made strides after the Regional Trial Court in Pinamalayan granted their motion for reconsideration of an earlier court order mandating petitioners to pay filing fees amounting to over half a million pesos. 
  
The class suit filed last December 9, 2025 sees dozens of fisherfolk from Calapan, Pinamalayan, and Pola – areas that were the most heavily affected by the oil spill – seek from MT Princess Empress shipowner RDC Reield Marine Services, Inc, charterer and San Miguel Corporation subsidiary SL Harbor Bulk Terminal Corporation, the Shipowners’ Mutual Indemnity and Protection Association, and the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds compensation that is reflective of the true extent of damages to the fisherfolk and their livelihoods. The case represents fisherfolks across multiple coastal communities who suffered losses in livelihood and long-term ecological damage following the disaster.
 

While the court’s acceptance of the Motion for Reconsideration allows the case to move forward, petitioners and environmental advocates said the situation exposes how difficult it remains for marginalized communities to access justice.
 

The motion for reconsideration and the class suit itself represents a crucial moment in the fight of Filipino fisherfolks and coastal communities to hold polluters accountable and demand genuine rehabilitation of the Verde Island Passage.
 
Full story at: https://www.protectvip.org/post/fisherfolk-class-suit-on-verde-island-passage-oil-spill-moves-forward