Resign, Marina chief urged and prosecute owners of M/V Princess of the Stars - Sen. Jinggoy

June 23, 2008

BY JP LOPEZ - SENATE President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada yesterday called for the resignation of Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) Administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. and the prosecution of the owners of M/V Princess of the Stars which capsized last Saturday off Sibuyan strait in Romblon at the height of typhoon “Frank.”

Estrada said Suazo and other Marina officials should resign for implementing “defective” guidelines that enabled the ferry to sail despite an incoming typhoon.

He said the owners of Sulpicio Lines should also be prosecuted for disregarding the safety of their passengers after the ship’s captain was ordered to sail from the Port of Manila bound for Cebu last Friday even after the weather bureau raised typhoon signal No. 1 in the Visayas.

The ferry was carrying around 800 passengers and crew.

Estrada noted that three sea tragedies in the country that killed thousands of persons involved vessels owned by Sulpicio Lines. These are MV Doña Paz, Doña Marilyn and Princess of the Orient.

MV Doña Paz sank Dec. 20, 1987 after colliding with a Caltex oil tanker in Tablas Strait, killing 4,000, the second worst sea disaster after the sinking of the Titanic.

Doña Marilyn sank Oct. 24, 1988 and Princess of the Orient floundered Sept. 18, 1998.

“Hindi na natututo itong mga ito. In a span of 21 years, apat na barko ang lumubog,” Estrada said.

“The officials of the Marina and Sulpicio Lines are all responsible for the more than 700 people who went missing or died,” Estrada said.

Reports said Marina implements guidelines that give ship owners the discretion to either ground their big ships or set sail when typhoon signal No. 1 is raised.

Estrada said those guidelines have “no logic.”

“There is no sense allowing vessels to sail into a raging storm, that’s suicide or maybe murder.”

He said Marina officials should be sacked for not doing their jobs of regulating the operations of shipping companies and ensuring the safety of passengers.

Estrada said he is supporting the call of Sen. Rodolfo Biazon to investigate the incident.

“The delineation of functions, responsibilities and authorities among the Coast Guard, Marina and the Philippine Ports Authority relative to who should give the clearance for the ship to sail should be reviewed and clarified,” Biazon said.

“All three agencies are tasked to set vessel standards, check the seaworthiness of the vessels through rigid inspections not only of the vessels in its entirety, but also with special emphasis on the navigational and safety equipments. Who gave the go signal to sail?” he asked.

Sen. Mar Roxas called for clear accountability. “Every time a disaster strikes and a ferry sinks, we hear calls for investigations and dismissals. This time, let us go beyond mere rhetoric and really get to the bottom of what exactly what went wrong, and who are liable for this tragic incident, so that it never happens,” he said.

CANCEL FRANCHISE

The House of Representatives will move to cancel the legislative franchise of Sulpicio Lines.

“Three or more sea disasters on the same shipping company is no longer coincidental. So why is it that these sailing coffins are still running in our seas,” Speaker Prospero Nograles said.

“It’s time to cancel franchises or permits and throw the book at those responsible,” Nograles said. “Heads should roll if government regulators are found incompetent and negligent of their sworn duties to the public.”

The committee on legislative franchise chaired by Rep. Ferjenel Biron (Lakas, Iloilo) will begin reviewing Sulpicio’s franchise when sessions resume July 28.

Rep. Monico Puentevella (Lakas, Bacolod), chair of the committee on transportation, said he would move to investigate the disaster.

Nograles said the Coast Guard, the Marina and the DOTC, which are duty bound to oversee the safety of the shipping industry, should explain why the vessels like the MV Princess of the Stars are allowed to travel, especially during a typhoon.

“They ought to have records of sea worthiness of vessels, especially records on regulations compliance by shipping companies who appear to have the penchant of violating simple but vital rules governing sea transport,” he said. - With Wendell Vigilia

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