The Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking into the possibility of oil smuggling in the Bataan oil spill incident.

In a news forum in Quezon City, DOJ Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said they noticed several red flags on the incident, involving MT Jason Bradley, MV Mirola 1, and MT Terranova.

According to Vasquez, the Jason Bradley tanker has a pending case on oil smuggling at the DOJ.

He said Jason Bradley is one of the ships that fled from the scene of a joint anti-oil smuggling operation of the National Bureau of Investigation’s Organized and Transnational Crime Division (NBI-OTCD) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in December last year.

“Iyong Mirola, mas matindi. Iyan ay supposed to be seized na unregistered, no records, no nothing, it’s not even subject on an insurance. Same thing with Jason Bradley. Ang kagandahan ng Jason Bradley lang iyong owner nag-hire na ngayong ng salvor para iangat. Kasi kailangan nating malaman kung ang tatlong iyan ay kenektado, magkakalapit, lapit eh,” Vasquez said.

“All this sinking happened within an area of roughly five to 10 nautical miles within each other. That’s another red flag,” he added.

Another question is how TMT Terranova sailed for 26 hours but travelled a distance of only three nautical miles.

“Pero, three nautical miles lang ang nalampas niya, ang nalayo niya. Saan nagpunta? Isa pa, naglayag noong parating na iyong bagyo. Normally kung isang maritime expert ka, you go south. Ang tawag nila diyan eh, layunan mo iyong bagyo. Huwag kang paikot-ikot diyan,” Vasquez said.

“Pero, lumubog siya three nautical miles, nakikita mo lang. Sinasabi nila nagkakaroon daw ng engine trouble. That’s the subject of investigation,” he pointed out. Presidential News Desk