|
TWO
veteran merchant-ship officers faulted the Board of
Marine Inquiry (BMI) of the Coast Guard as lacking good
procedural practices that could be seen by their
“allowing the Sulpicio Lines counsel to take control of
the inquiry” into the sinking of the MV Princess of the
Stars.
In a
briefing for reporters, retired ship captains Michael
Cuanzon and Rodolfo Estampador believed the BMI, headed
by Rear Adm. Ramon Liwag, had not set clear-cut rules
that will prevent Sulpicio’s legal counsel Arthur Lim
from taking control.
They
said the board has allowed Lim to cross-examine resource
persons such as the representatives from the Philippine
Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration and some Coast Guard officials.
They
also allowed him to elaborate on his objections to the
rules whenever possible. “They have given Arthur Lim the
ammunition to shoot them,” said Cuanzon, who was a
member of similar hearings in France and in Britain.
He
explained that comments by two board members have also
pushed Sulpicio to do something to save itself. “BMI has
pushed Arthur Lim to question their authority over the
issue.”
Guanzon
said in his previous experiences the legal counsel was
only present to protect the interest of his clients and
not to meddle with the procedures.
Such
lack of procedural integrity, he said, including barring
anyone other than the members of the board to question
resource persons, as well as comments of some members on
the alleged inability of Sulpicio to follow some
policies, had led Lim to question the jurisdiction of
the Coast Guard to investigate the case.
Last
week, BMI members Capts. Romillo and Mata inhibited
themselves after Lim accused them of bias due to their
comments on certain aspects on how Sulpicio should
follow certain international and domestic shipping
policies and made themselves available for media
interviews after each session.
The
hearing resumed on Friday after the Regional Trial Court
in Manila junked the petition of the shipping firm for a
temporary restraining order.
The
court will hear another motion starting Monday for an
injunction filed by Sulpicio to stop BMI from hearing
the case arguing the right body to investigate is the
Maritime Industry Authority. |
