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It is not enough that President Arroyo was reported to have given
Coast Guard officials and the owner of Sulpicio Lines a
tongue-lashing—via a teleconference call—in the wake of the
sinking of the M/V Princess of the Stars.
Administrative, civil and, above all, criminal
charges need to be filed—if only to render justice to passengers
and crew who perished in rough waters off Romblon’s Sibuyan Island
at the height of Typhoon Frank.
In particular, Sulpicio Lines has a lot to
answer for—especially in view of the fact that it has figured in
many other maritime disasters in the not so distant past.
As this paper reported the other day, Sulpicio
also owned and operated the M/V Princess of the Orient, which
capsized in 1998 near Fortune Island in Batangas. Of the 388 people
on board, 150 perished.
Sulpicio Lines also gave the Philippines the
dubious honor of having the worst peacetime shipping tragedy when
its M/V Doña Paz collided with the tanker M/T Vector in 1987. The
death toll from that incident reached 4,341.
Another Sulpicio interisland ferry, the M/V Doña
Marilyn, sank a year later, taking down with it some 250 people.
In 2005 the M/V Princess of the World, another
Sulpicio ferry, caught fire while at sea.
What further evidence that Sulpicio Lines just
does not have what it takes to operate seacraft safely are the
authorities looking for?
Allowing Sulpicio Lines to wiggle its way out of
its accountability for the Princess of the Stars sinking can only
serve to guarantee yet another maritime tragedy in the future.
NAIA 3 to open, finally
Ironically, the sinking of the Princess of the
Stars came soon after positive developments were reported in the
transportation sector.
President Arroyo announced last week a major
move that raised hopes that the much-delayed opening of the third
terminal of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport would finally
materialize in the not too distant future. On the strength of an
executive order, she directed former presidential chief of staff
Michael Defensor to head a task force that would work toward the
immediate opening of NAIA 3.
The appointment of Defensor came on the heels of
an earlier statement by Department of Transportation and
Communications (DOTC) Secretary Leandro Mendoza that NAIA 3 is one
of three airports that the government intends to open this year. The
other two are the renovated Diosdado Macapagal International Airport
in Clark, Pampanga, and Busuanga Airport in Palawan, both of which
should boost local and regional tourism significantly.
NAIA 3, meanwhile, is expected to finally give a
world-class berthing for the international airlines that still have
to make do with the 27-year-old NAIA 1. The 67,000-square meter
facility, conceived in 1973 and finished in 1981, reached its
maximum capacity of some 4.5 million passengers per annum in 1991.
The opening of NAIA 2, also known as Centennial
Terminal, in 1999 somehow eased the overcapacity, but it only serves
Philippine Airlines and its sister company Air Philippines. The 28
or so other international carriers still using NAIA 1 are waiting
for a much better option—and so are the five million or more
travelers who have no choice but to bear with the limitations of the
antiquated first terminal.
With Defensor’s task force in place, the
airlines, their passengers and others involved in air travel have
reason to be optimistic that the remaining hurdles in the way of the
operation of 182,500-square meter NAIA 3 would soon be removed.
There are reportedly still some concerns over the structural works
in the terminal, but nothing that modern engineering and the energy
of a young official would not be able to address.
Once NAIA 3 is opened and operational the
country would also be able to put behind it a controversial chapter
in the history of Philippine aviation. It would also showcase the
resolve of the government to provide the country with a modern
airport that can compete with Southeast Asia ’s best.
The executive order appears to have provided
Defensor with sufficient authority to address the remaining issues
and to mobilize the resources of the government to ensure the
opening of NAIA 3. The public can only wish him and other agencies
involved in this project the best of luck. Everyone will benefit
from the terminal’s operation.
Commuter trains
The announcement on the impending opening of
NAIA 3 came in the same week that news on the government’s Light
Rail Transit Line 7 project also ran in the papers.
The DOTC has signed a so-called concession
contract with Universal LRT Corp. for the construction of the
commuter train line that will link Bulacan through San Jose del
Monte City with the other existing LRT lines. Once completed this
transportation link should help disperse businesses and subdivisions
further north, thereby helping ease congestion in Metro Manila.
Also last week the government appeared bent on
exploring various funding possibilities for the long-delayed
extension of MRT 3 line from North Triangle to Monumento. When
completed it would complete a loop that would bring commuters to key
business centers in five major cities quickly and conveniently.
For years, nay, decades Metro Manilans have
looked forward to the completion of these and other mass transport
projects. With fuel prices skyrocketing, the additional light-train
lines would be a welcome relief to people who need to get around the
capital region.
dansoy26@yahoo.com
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