Friday, July 11, 2008 Legislators ‘to grill’ Sulpicio officers
LEGISLATORS vow to grill Sulpicio Lines Inc. officials in next week’s joint hearing of the House Committees on Transportation and Oversight on the mv Princess of the Stars sinking, according to a report on the House of Representatives website.
Legislators spent six hours last Monday questioning representatives of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
The questioning was considered “lamentable” by Reps. Edcel Lagman (1st District, Albay) and Jose Solis (2nd District, Sorsogon).
Lagman said officials of Sulpicio Lines present during the hearing should have been questioned also. That way, Lagman said, the committee can determine this early the extent of their responsibility over the sea mishap that killed hundreds of passengers and crew.
Solis said he was perplexed that Pag-asa and PCG executives were the ones placed in the hot seat during the hearing.
“If there were people who should have taken the heat for the tragedy that befell the crew and passengers of mv Princess of the Stars, they should have been the officials of Sulpicio Lines,” Solis said.
Transportation Undersecretary Maria Elena Bautista, meanwhile, confirmed that cargo vessels of Sulpicio Lines Inc. have been allowed to operate.
Bautista told reporters that based on industry statistics, the cargo industry will not be able to absorb the “vacuum created if operation of cargo vessels of Sulpicio would be totally stopped.”
She said, however, that they made conditions clear with Sulpicio Lines.
“Part of the condition for their voyage is for our audit team to board the vessels and make sure that they comply in the strictest sense of all the regulations, especially in
the bringing of hazardous materials,” said Bautista.
While Bautista acknowledged that there are some vessels of Sulpicio Lines designed to carry both passengers and cargo, she said that these were not allowed to operate.
“Only the freighters are allowed to ply (their routes),” she said.
She added, however, that if there is a need for Ro-Pax (roll on roll off and passenger vessels) to operate, they would be required to secure special permission from the Department of Transportation and Communication and the Maritime Industry Authority.
Earlier, one of the Ro-Pax vessels of Sulpicio Lines, the Filipina Princess, was given permission to leave Manila in order to dry-dock in Cebu.
Bautista said the Filipina Princess left Manila without passengers.
In the aftermath of the sinking of the mv Princess of the Stars, Bautisa said that they would implement strict auditing of all vessels.
This way, she said, they can avoid passenger overloading in other vessels with the grounding of Sulpicio Lines’ passenger ships.
“Auditing is not only for Sulpicio, this is for all vessels in the industry, to make sure that this does not happen again,” said Bautista. (EPB/Congress.gov.ph)
