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Thursday, August 31, 2006
Solar 1 ship owners barred from leaving RP
MANILA -- Four Japanese nationals and five Filipino incorporators of the Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., owner of motor tanker Solar 1 that sank off Guimaras and caused a massive oil spill, were placed under the watch-list of the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
In a memorandum to Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr., Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. ordered that Mototsugu Yamaguchi, Hiroyasu Yamaguchi, Tomoki Tsubomoto, Hiromi Irishika and their Filipino partners Dionisio Parulan, Gregorio Flores, Clemente Cancio, Roberto Mena and Angelita Buenaventura be included in the watch-list.
On top of possible reckless imprudence charges, the nine are also the subject of an investigation for a number of violations in connection with the oil spill that resulted from the sinking of MT Solar 1 on August 11 due to bad weather.
"In the interest of the public and so as not to frustrate the ends of justice, you are hereby directed to include in the bureau's watch-list the following names, which are subject of investigation for violations of the Clean Water Act, Anti-Dummy Law, Corporation Code, Domestic Philippine Act, Revised Penal Code and the Brown Environmental Law," Gonzalez said.
The newly formed Department of Justice (DOJ) special task force has issued summons to Cancio, president of Sunshine Maritime; Nicasio Alcantara, chairman of Petron; Vice Admiral Arthur Gosingan, chief of the Philippine Coast Guard; and Solar 1 captain, Norberto Aguro.
Ship crew Herminio Renger, radioman; Jesse Angel, pumpman; Reynaldo Torio and Victor Morados, both oilers, were also called to appear after the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) found out that all four have expired General Tanker Familiarization certificates.
All were directed to appear before an inquiry to be held on Monday at the DOJ executive lounge before Justice Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, who chairs the task force.
But sources said the four Japanese incorporators have already left the country or were outside the country when the oil spill took place.
Gonzalez said the names of the Japanese executives were gathered by investigators from the articles of incorporation of the shipping company, wherein it was learned that they provided P4 million of the P5 million start-up capital of the shipping company.
He said if this was true, this would make the incorporators liable under the Anti-Dummy Law, which provides that "any person, corporation, or association which, having in its name or under its control, a right, franchise, privilege, property or business, the exercise or enjoyment of which is expressly reserved by the Constitution or the laws to citizens of the Philippines or of any other specific country, or to corporations or associations at least sixty per centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens in any matter."
The DOJ panel was tasked to determine, among others, the seaworthiness of the vessel, the validity of the captain's license, and the movement or direction of the ship before it sank.
Gonzalez gave the investigating team 30 days to submit its report and recommendations.
The oil spill, considered the worst ever in the country's history, occurred after Solar I, a Philippine-owned tanker hired by Petron, sank off the island of Guimaras in Iloilo on August 11 while carrying at least 2 million liters of bunker fuel. (ECV/Sunnex)
(August 31, 2006 issue)
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