Mindoro folk still await compensation 3 years after oil spill

CALAPAN CITY, ORIENTAL MINDORO, Philippines — For communities along the Verde Island Passage (VIP), the memory of the 2023 oil spill that swept through coastal areas remains painfully fresh. On Feb. 28, exactly three years after the tragedy, residents, fisherfolk and advocates gathered in Pola, Oriental Mindoro—one of the hardest-hit towns—to call for compensation, environmental