The Secretary of the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources , Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, has said that ship owners in the Philippines have agreed to collaborate with her office to address gaps in oil spill prevention.
She said,"We need to prevent the risk, and that needs to be translated into the policies, processes, and technical capacities of the people who are actually implementing these laws." The DENR Secretary said her department has also been collaborating with local and national government agencies to mitigate and prevent oil spills in Philippine waters.On 28 February, a tanker carrying 800,000 liters of industrial oil sank off the coast of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, causing an oil spill that exposed residents in the area to health hazards and ruined their livelihood.