SULPICIO Lines Inc. will pay the $315-million cost of retrieving the sunken mv Princess of the Stars, the company’s first vice president told the House of Representatives during its hearing yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) has wrapped up its investigation on the sinking, reportedly upon the request of President Arroyo, and will no longer hold hearings in Cebu.
That decision came a day after the BMI appealed to survivors to attend hearings scheduled today and tomorrow.
At the House of Representatives, Sulpicio Lines first vice president Edgar Go said the company will pay for the cost of retrieving the Princess of the Stars, the Inquirer.net website reported yesterday.
Hundreds of bodies are believed to be trapped inside the vessel, which sank during typhoon Frank last month.
Go told legislators they would pay for the salvaging of the ship because Sulpicio Lines “is a socially responsible company.”
But when Cavite Rep. Elpido Barzaga asked Go whether the company was willing to put that pledge into writing, the shipping official refused.
Go said the contract for the ship salvaging was “more than enough to show proof of our sincerity.”
Go later promised to put into writing Sulpicio’s commitment to pay for whatever additional expenses would be incurred during the operations, Inquirer.net reported.
“You have my word,” the website quoted the official as saying.
In yesterday’s hearing, House Deputy Speaker Raul del Mar questioned the Sulpicio official on payments they made to families of the victims. Del Mar also asked Go about the status of retrieval operations.
Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, meanwhile, asked whether the company had ordered the Princess of the Stars captain to return or take shelter after the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa) placed Romblon and Marinduque under typhoon signal number three.
Golez said the fact that the ship continued to sail showed that Sulpicio did not order the captain to return to port or take shelter elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Commodore Edmund Tan of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said that the BMI will no longer conduct hearings in Cebu.
Tan said that the BMI, chaired by Rear Admiral Ramon Liwag, will now prepare the investigation report and this will take time.
Tan said the BMI report will be submitted to Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza, who is also the chairman of the board of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).
According to Tan, BMI already had enough inputs to come up with its report.
Suazo said that the BMI report will be an input for the Marina Board to decide on the Sulpicio case.
Marina Administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. said he already submitted to the Marina Board a partial report on the audit of all the passenger vessels of Sulpicio Lines. He said the Marina Board will take up his report once it convenes again this week or next week.
Tan said that while there was no written order from the President for the BMI to close the investigation, she expressed her wish that a report be submitted the soonest possible time.
The other day, Tan appealed to the survivors of the sea mishap who are in Cebu to testify in the scheduled BMI hearing. (EOB/From an Inquirer.net report)
