MANILA, March 3 -- The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has highlighted the need for better oil spill response aside from sterner measures and regulations against water pollution.

OCD administrator, Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, made this call a year after MT Princess Empress sank off Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro province on Feb. 28, 2023, causing a massive oil spill that also reached the waters of Antique, Batangas and Palawan provinces.

"It has been a year since the oil spill incident happened in Mindoro. Though it took us time, still we were able to surmount all the challenges that we encountered because of inter-agency and multisector action and though we hope that it will not happen again, the incident calls on us to strengthen ...