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Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Raps set v. boat owners; 4 kids still missing, feared dead
MANILA - Authorities will file criminal charges against owners of a boat that capsized during a sea parade in Southern Leyte, killing 16 people, most of them children.
Coast Guard Chief Admiral Arthur Gosingan said rescuers were searching the waters off San Ricardo town for possible survivors, a day after the overcrowded ferry mv SunJay overturned and hurled those aboard—many of them children—into the sea.
Witnesses said the accident happened after revelers crowded to one side of the boat, causing it to lose stability.
San Ricardo Vice Mayor Fiel Culpa, who owns the boat, and the skipper can be held liable for the accident, said Coast Guard Central and Eastern Visayas Chief Commodore Alexander Flora.
Flora said the overloading and the use of the boat outside its franchised route were enough grounds to charge Culpa before the Ombudsman’s office.
He said a separate criminal complaint for multiple homicide through reckless imprudence can be filed against the boat’s skipper.
Organizers
Gosingan said the organizers will also likely be charged.
Southern Leyte Vice Gov. Mike Maamo said the boat was offered free of charge during Sunday’s annual Santo Niño festival honoring the infant Jesus.
Maamo said 16 villagers, including 14 children, died and 198 were rescued or swam ashore, while five were injured and confined to a hospital in nearby Pintuyan town.
Four children remained missing as of yesterday afternoon, but rescue efforts by air force and local divers, including some British volunteers, would likely end Monday if the victims were not found, Maamo said.
A search by two air force helicopters along San Ricardo’s coast yesterday found nothing, he said.
“I’ll give them up to this afternoon and then we’ll terminate the search. There’s nothing we can do,” he said.
Commodore Flora said Culpa should have first applied for a special permit from Marina so she could use her boat in the fluvial procession. She should have ensured that the passengers aboard had not exceeded the boat’s 60-passenger capacity. The boat plied the San Ricardo-Surigao route.
San Ricardo, located at the tip of Southern Leyte, was overwhelmed by grief a day after the tragedy.
Officials built wooden coffins for many of the young victims who came from impoverished families. They also discussed with a local Roman Catholic priest whether to hold a mass or separate wakes and burial for the victims, Maamo said.
Fund aid
Vice Mayor Culpa pledged to give financial assistance to relatives of the fatalities.
Although the accident occurred in good weather, many of the victims were unable to reach shore because of injuries or strong currents, Southern Leyte Gov. Rosette Lerias said.
Maamo said the provincial government is considering a tightening of restrictions on future sea parades.
“We can’t stop tradition,” he said. “But we can minimize the chances of another tragedy.” (AP/With AIV)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (January 17, 2006 issue)
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