MANILA -- A total of 3,457 fisherfolk have filed a combined P114 million in financial compensation claims for the effects that they suffered from the MT Princess Empress oil spill, according to a lawmaker.

Compensable claims include property damage, costs of cleanup activities at sea and on shore, economic losses by fisherfolk and seafood vendors, or those engaged in mariculture, economic losses in the tourism sector, and costs for reinstatement of the environment.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said in a press release that the figures from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC) were "very preliminary" and that additional claims might have been "submitted by now, but have not been aggregated and reported yet."

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IOPC Funds is a London-based environmental organization that pays compensation to those who suffered pollution damage from oil spills.

Pimentel added that the Philippine Coast Guard and other government agencies involved "are also expected to file their respective claims for costs incurred in cleanup operations and preventive measures as well as sea response."

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Last February 28, the MT Princess Empress went down in rough seas near Oriental Mindoro while carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil.

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