Court asked to allow disposal of seized fuel

By Gabriel L. Cardinoza

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- A government prosecutor has asked the court to issue a clearance to the Bureau of Customs (BoC) for the disposal of the smuggled diesel fuel that it had seized from an oil tanker last May to allay fears of an oil spill at Sual Bay in Sual town.
    Lawyer Rod Pino of the BoC legal service, prosecution and litigation division also asked the court to order the inspection of the ship and its diesel fuel cargo, and the taking of samples of the smuggled diesel with the participation, as witnesses, of the accused, consignee, vessel owner, media, and other interested parties.
    "The prosecution acknowledges the grave concern by the Provincial Government of Pangasinan and the Municipality of Sual regarding the continued presence of MV Veronica 1 and its 1.35 million liters of diesel fuel cargo in Sual and the great threats they pose to the livelihood of the residents and the economy of the province," Pino said in his omnibus motion filed last week at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 37 here.
    The RTC Branch 37 is hearing the unlawful importation case filed against MV Veronica 1's skipper Nemesio Batiancila, his 12 crew members, and a number of unidentified others.
    In an emergency meeting last May, Gov. Ramon Guico 3rd asked the BoC to move the ship to a safer location to prevent an environmental disaster at Sual Bay, in the event the diesel fuel from the ship leaks into the bay.
    "Is there a way to legally remove the contents of the ship and then remove the ship from the bay and then account for the contents?" Guico asked.
    Lawyer Emmanuel Laforteza of the Provincial Prosecutor's Office said only a sample of the oil is needed as evidence to be presented in court.
    Sual Bay is a cove facing the Lingayen Gulf. It hosts the town's mariculture area where more than 800 bangus or milkfish cages are located.
    Sual, and the towns of Bolinao and Anda, supply about 80 percent of bangus produced in Pangasinan.