Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Transport chief defends PCG officials from inhibition calls
TRANSPORTATION Secretary Leandro Mendoza on Tuesday rejected calls for Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Wilfredo Tamayo and other PCG officials to inhibit themselves from the investigation into the capsizing of the MV Princess of the Star that was allowed to sail despite an existing storm.
Mendoza said Tamayo, in particular, was not the one who allowed the vessel to sail, adding that those on the ground who allowed the ship to travel were also merely following a set of guidelines.
He added that the PCG officials themselves are conducting an internal investigation to determine if there are some liabilities among their men.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. earlier asked the PCG officials to at least inhibit themselves from the investigation.
Gonzalez said in other countries, such officials either retire or go on leave pending investigation. "Maybe it would be good for the government's own perception by the public that these things are being done not necessarily because we want to protect others but because we have to see to it that there is really a dispassionate investigation being undertaken," he said.
Mendoza said the investigation is being done by the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI), and while an official of the PCG is included, the body is mostly comprised of retired merchant marine captains, engineers, masters and mariners "and these are not part of government, they are from the private sector".
He said the members of the body also committed to give impartial and just findings.
He assured that the PCG is there as a "resource person".
"When we had the organizational meeting of the BMI, we made sure that they are competent enough to handle this investigation, and make sure that no biases are introduced in the investigation," he said.
Mendoza, however, said they are taking note of the recommendation of Gonzalez for Tamayo to inhibit himself and study the impact of such action on the ongoing search and rescue operations.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said it would be better to "set it aside and we will just wait for the developments, and let the proper agency of government give their recommendation later on."
Protocols
Mendoza and Tamayo said aside from the investigation, they are also reviewing the protocols "so we could come up with stronger measures to prevent accidents during other similar weather conditions."
Mendoza said they are considering President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's order to ban sea travel regardless of tonnage, whenever there is a typhoon regardless of the strength or storm signal.
He said stakeholders, however, are complaining that such "policy is against economics and even social responsibility.
Gonzalez and Mendoza, meanwhile, welcomed the proposed investigation of Congress on the matter. The justice chief said it might lead to a review of the laws on issuance of franchise, while Mendoza said it could lead to the modernization of the maritime industry.
The transportation chief added that such an investigation would not interfere with ongoing operations.
Recovered bodies
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commodore Rogelio Villanueva, a Coast Guard representative, said they have retrieved a total of 70 bodies of passengers and crewmembers of the ship that capsized off Sibuyan Island in Romblon Province last Saturday.
Villanueva said three of the bodies were recovered by divers who entered the wreckage of the ship last Tuesday.
He said eight were recovered from San Fernando town in Romblon, four from Mulanay town and 55 from the town of Claveria in Quezon Province.
When asked what happened to the 15 bodies reported by a Coast Guard official last Monday as recovered from Burias Island, Villanueva said they were verified to be not part of the passengers and crewmembers of the ship.
He said they might have come from eight ships and bancas that also encountered maritime accidents at the height of the typhoon.
Villanueva also said they have accounted a total of 48 survivors. Four of the survivors were recovered in San Fernando, 39 in Mulanay, and five in various towns in Quezon.
When asked why the number of survivors went down to 48 when the Coast Guard mentioned at least 60 survivors last Monday, he said: "Some of the survivors, after being interviewed by local officials and our personnel, said they were not bona fide passengers of the MV Princess of the Star."
Villanueva said at least 30 divers are at the vicinity of the ship, and they are sending more to help in the search and retrieval operations. He said the retrieval mission have to be halted because of "poor illumination inside the ship."
He said the divers reported that there might be more bodies inside the ship. "According to the divers, there were indications that there were floating bodies inside the ship. Indeed, there were floating bodies," he said.
Foreign aids
Armed Forces Chief Alexander Yano said the United States Pacific Command has offered to send five to six additional ships, including a salvage and battle group ship, to lend their expertise and augment the search and rescue teams scouring the coast of Sibuyan Island.
Yano said the US Navy Ship Stockham was already sent to the area.
According to him, the US Navy Ship Stockham is a container and roll-on, roll-off ship, which has on board sea hawk helicopters, two 10-meter boats and two 11-meter boats.
He said a P3 Orion aircraft that is usually used for surveillance was also used in conducting a similar aerial reconnaissance in the vicinity of the incident.
"The US Pacific Command also offered additional assistance. They can have a salvage ship, which is a platform for divers coming from Japan to sail in three-four days towards the country. We also have a battle group of four-five ships in the vicinity west of the Philippines that can sail towards our area in 36 hours when needed," he added.
Yano said the US team would stay in Romblon until they are needed.
Teodoro meantime said aside from the US, Japan Coast Guard is also helping out in the search and rescue operations.
"We will welcome expertise for other countries in the matter of not only retrieval but also search and rescue. They have skills and they have the equipment that we might not have. That's why we also need their competence to help the PCG," he said.
He added that PCG divers were already able to reach the sunken vessel.
Information centers
Vice President Noli de Castro flew to San Fernando, Romblon to personally check the conditions of the ongoing search and rescue operations as well as determine what more needs to be done to speed up the operations including the recovery and identification of the victims.
He said all needed information and coordination should be coursed through the Task Force Princess of the Star.
Transportation Undersecretary for Maritime Affairs Elena Bautista, who heads the task force, said they are planning to put up some information centers in San Fernando, Romblon where the relatives of the victims could go to be nearer to the operation and at the same time get updated information on the recovery of survivors and bodies.
Bautista said the centers are similar to the ones they used in previous sea tragedies that were put up in areas near the incidents.
Appeal
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) appealed to the government to fast track its search and rescue operations of the missing passengers and crew of the MV Princess of the Stars.
"They should speed it up because the longer the time it takes them, the more it will worsen. Like in the identification of the victims, I think it would be much harder," said CBCP spokesman Pedro Quitorio.
At the same time, Quitorio scored the government for its lack of appropriate standard operating procedure (SOP) when it comes to the conduct of rescue operations.
"In other countries, they have that so as to speed up their rescue operations. Here we don't have that. I'm wondering why? The modus operandi of government, it's the same, nothing has changed," he said.
Noting that concerned agencies are finger pointing at each other only showed that there is indeed a lack of an effective system in the government.
"When a government is not organized, it's bound to be repeating the same mistakes. If they are organized, they won't point at each other, actually, it's already in the law...so it's in the way they implement it," said Quitorio. (Sunnex)
