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Sulpicio Lines insists it cannot be faulted for the sinking of its
MV Princess of the Stars in the Sibuyan Sea at the height of Typhoon
Frank’s onslaught. Its lawyer told maritime investigators Friday
that the tragedy should be blamed instead on government weathermen.
A lawyer for Sulpicio Lines told the Board of
Marine Inquiry that the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and
Atmospheric Services Administration (Pagasa) “failed to
disseminate [information on] the change in the course of typhoon
Frank from 11 p.m. of June 20, three hours after the vessel left”
Manila.
The lawyer’s allegation failed to jive with
the recollection of newsmen covering Pagasa who managed to report by
Friday midnight the official warning about the sudden change in
Frank’s course. In fact, portions of Pagasa’s hurriedly called
press briefing were even broadcast live by several AM radio
stations.
Either Sulpicio Lines officials were not
monitoring Pagasa or they intentionally ignored its warning.
The discovery of hazardous chemicals in the
ill-fated vessel’s cargo hold has all but destroyed what little
credibility Sulpicio Lines managed to retain soon after the tragedy,
which probably cost the lives of over 800 people.
Disclosure of the 10,000 kilograms of Endosulfan
on board the Princess of the Stars came, not from Sulpicio Lines,
but from Del Monte, the consignment’s owner. Not only did Sulpicio
Lines violate maritime regulations that, according to Transportation
Undersecretary Elena Bautista, prohibit shipping hazardous materials
on passenger vessels. It obviously also tried to withhold the
critical information from the authorities and the public.
According to Greenpeace, Endosulfan—a neuro-toxic
organochlorine insecticide, manufactured by Bayer Crop Science—has
been restricted in the Philippines since 1994. It is highly toxic
and persistent.
“It is outrageous that a shipment of a highly
toxic substance was allowed on board a passenger vessel,” said
Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace Campaign Manager.
The environmental group also said that Del Monte
and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority should be “made fully
accountable for this unfolding chemical disaster, the former for
continuing the use of such highly toxic chemical and the latter for
allowing multinational companies to use them despite the national
prohibition and the scientific evidence of their toxicity.”
Before we get into that, however, Sulpicio Lines
should immediately be held responsible for the potential exposure to
the highly toxic chemical of the 70 or so divers who were sent or
volunteered to retrieve the remains of passengers from the capsized
vessel.
The Endosulfan discovery also prompted the
government to enforce a ban on all fishing in the Sibuyan Sea, which
according to former Mayor Dindo Rios of San Fernando, Romblon,
deprives thousands of area residents of their only means of
livelihood.
Bautista’s announcement that the pesticide
inside a 40-foot container van in the cargo hold of the sunken ferry
would be retrieved some time this week. The entire cost of the
retrieval—along with the income denied Romblon’s fishermen as a
result of the fishing ban—should be shouldered by Sulpicio Lines.
This, of course, is aside from a class suit that
the victims’ families reportedly plan to slap on the ferry
operator.
Outraged expat
The effrontery of Sulpicio Lines has incensed
Filipinos, both here and abroad.
US-based Juanito Fuerte <GlenAllenGemini@aol.com>
sent an e-mail, titled “Hang ‘em high or drown them!,” which
said in part:
“In my conservative estimation, counting all
those lives lost in the previous incidents since 1987 that you
mentioned in your commentary, up to this most recent disaster,
amounts to an average of approximately 260 lives lost each year over
a period of 21 years, or loss of roughly 21 lives a month! That’s
a crime of the highest degree! And, to think that this company keeps
operating business as usual, even in the face of life-threatening
weather conditions, deliberately taking a chance on putting
people’s lives in harm’s way, is beyond comprehension.
“I’m definitely in agreement with you that
this company’s operators, including the Coast Guard honcho who
gave the permission for that ill-fated ferry to sail on despite the
very real possibility of that ferry encountering ominous weather
phenomenon on the high seas, not be given a wiggling room.
“They should be hanged on the yard-arm! Either
that or, blindfolded and hands tied behind their back, let them walk
the gangplank overboard to their demise—the way it used to be done
with undesirable characters in the old seafaring days.
“Better yet, drag them upside down over the
fantail of a moving vessel with their heads submerged in the water.
That would serve two purposes: (1) give them a dose of their own
medicine, and (2) provide a feeding frenzy for the carnivores of the
seas . . .
“Now, I realize that’s cruel and unusual
punishment but, even that wouldn’t make up for the cruel and
unusual derelictions of duty they so cruelly and unusually committed
without regard to the lives of others. To let them get away with
these crimes they’ve been committing for years would only mean
more lives lost at sea and more grieving families and friends in the
future.
“Monetary compensations will never bring back
those lives nor ease the grief and sorrow of the loved ones left
behind.”
dansoy26@yahoo.com
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