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By Anthony Vargas, Reporter
A RANKING Catholic Church official on Saturday
balked at government’s proposal of taking over the operations of
Sulpicio Lines Inc. the country’s largest shipping company.
Cebu Archbishop Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, however,
supported government’s decision of allowing Sulpicio to resume its
cargo handling operation even as the MV Princess of the Stars sea
tragedy probe is still ongoing.
“The government should not take over the
operation [of Sulpicio] because they are not capable of doing
that,” Vidal told reporters in a chance interview in Intramuros,
Manila.
Vidal also pressed for the resumption of
Sulpicio’s passenger handling operations once the Board of Marine
Inquiry (BMI) finishes its probe of the sea tragedy.
“Because of the situation and for economic
purposes, I think we still let them operate because they constitute
40 percent of the shipping industry in the country, but they should
first finish the case and most important, learn their lesson from
what happened,” Vidal said.
Sulpicio owns and operates the MV Princess of
the Stars that capsized off the coast of Sibuyan Island in Romblon
on June 21, when Typhoon Frank was battering the Visayas region.
The 23,000-ton passenger vessel was carrying
more than 850 passengers and crew when it overturned due to strong
winds and waves brought by Frank.
The Department of Transportation and
Communications has ordered the convening of the BMI to determine the
cause and who should be made liable for the incident.
President Gloria Arroyo has given the BMI 15
days to finish its probe and punish those behind the sinking.
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