Saturday, September 09, 2006
Japanese owner of Solar 1 firm rejects liability for spill
One of the four Japanese incorporators of Sunshine Maritime Development Corporation (SMDC), owner of the ill-fated Solar 1 tanker that sank off Guimaras island last August 11, on Friday dissociated himself from the disaster and the ensuing oil spill saying he has divested all his shares in the shipping firm as early as January this year.
Speaking through his Filipino and Japanese interpreters, Hiroyasu Yamaguchi told the Department of Justice (DOJ) that he has already sold all his stock shares for P1 million to SMDC president Clemente Cancio.
Aside from Yamaguchi, the three other Japanese incorporators are Mototsugu Yamaguchi, Tomoki Tsubomoto and Hiromi Irishka.
At the continuation of the hearings on the oil spill, Yamaguchi, listed as director of Sunshine Maritime in the articles of incorporation, presented to the DOJ panel a notarized document that he had sold his shares for the same amount that he had put up for the company's start-up capital in 2001.
The sale of the shares coincided with his 65th birthday, in which he considered himself retired. He also said his other businesses were not doing so good so that he decided to divest his shares.
"I turned 65, my physical condition is not good. I have hypertension and have a hearing problem. My mother is living alone, so I decided to sell my shares. I no longer have any relation with the company, but if I could do anything to help the problem, I will do so," he said.
DOJ Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, which heads the task force, asked him why the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was not furnished a copy of the notarized document.
The panel also showed a copy of Sunshine's list of officers for 2005, in which Yamaguchi was listed as treasurer. Under the Anti-Dummy Law, foreigners are prohibited from holding positions in a company higher than director, but Yamaguchi merely said he was not aware of the policy.
"Ignorance of the law is no excuse. The penalty for violation of the law is five to 15 years' imprisonment," said DOJ Undersecretary Fidel Exconde, a member of the panel, pointing out that the 1987 Constitution also allows only up to 40 percent of a domestic company's capital to be provided by foreigners.
Exconde further said of the P5.5 million in start-up capital of SMDC, P4 million, or 73 percent of this came from the four Japanese incorporators, who put in P1 million each.
The DOJ also cast doubt on the authenticity of Yamaguchi's notarized document of sale of shares and his claim that his businesses weren't doing well. He said Sunshine itself was spending P6 million a month for oil alone.
Pineda said the deed of sale submitted by Yamaguchi appeared to be so new that it could be fake. "I wonder that this paper was very new. I wonder if you really signed this in January 2006," he asked Yamaguchi.
Earlier, the DOJ task force has put the blame on the oil spill on Solar I Captain Norberto Aguro and his crewmen. Petron Corporation officials may be liable for the civil offense of negligence in choosing an unsuitable oil tanker.
Meanwhile, Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) administrator Vicente Suazo, Jr., who also testified Friday, said it is the responsibility of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to conduct pre-departure inspection on all sea vessels before leaving a port.
"The Coast Guard is enforcing the pre-departure inspections of the vessels on our behalf as provided under the Memorandum of Agreement that we had entered with them because we have no enough personnel to do it," Suazo said.
Suazo said the vessel owners, on the other hand, are the ones who should make sure that they are not hiring ship captains with expired license. "The owners of the vessels are the ones hiring and it is their responsibility to make sure that the ship captains that they hire have an existing license," he said. (ECV/Sunnex)
(September 9, 2006 issue)
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