The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) said the ten centavo per liter oil shipment levy will be implemented following the favorable ruling issued by the Department of Justice.

Under the law authored by Senator Pia Cayetano, oil tanker operators need to pay 10 centavos per liter on oil shipped nationwide. The levy, P1 billion of which will be collected yearly, will be used to clean any oil spill involving tankers.

ATOPhil, made up of 12 member-tankers carry about 360,000 barrels of oil per voyage. The tankers claimed the 10 cents will translate to P1 billion a year for all the 80 oil tankers in the country.

Atty. Peter Aguilar, Philpesta counsel explained a tanker coming from a refinery in Bataan going to Pandacan charge only 25 cents each liter. The ten centavo levy is charged per transit, meaning whenever a tanker docks, it will be charged another levy in another port.

The DOTC was supposed to release the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) last February but decided to ask the DOJ opinion.

DOTC asked DOJ if the levy is redundant, because of an existing levy under Civil Liability Convention (CLC) of 1992 and the International Oil Pollution Convention (IOPC) being observed worldwide.

International ocean-going tankers have the CLC and the IOPC to cover them for their liabilities during oil spill incidents.

The operators, led by the Philippine Petroleum Sea Transport Association (Philpesta) and the Association of Tanker Operators of the Philippines (Atophil), said the current coverage under the Protection and Indemnity Club of London, the CLC and

the IOPC are enough to cover them during oil spill incidents.

According to DOTC undersecretary Maria Elena Bautista; "the DOJ opinion was already released and there is no problem. We will make the IRR better and we’ll hold a workshop with stakeholders. Then, the IRR will have to be published, after which it will take effect."

When the IRR on the Republic Act 9483 or the Oil Pollution Management Act is approved, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) is responsible for the implementation.

The DOTC is working on the timetable for the collection of the levy and the amount needed as seed money as well as its impact to the industry.