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THREE
bodies in the advanced stage of decomposition and
believed to be among the missing passengers of MV
Princess of the Stars that overturned off at the height
of Typhoon Frank on June 21 were fished out on Sunday on
the municipal waters here adjoining Ticao Pass in
Castilla, Sorsogon.
Police Officer 1 Redan Angelo Calleja, spokesman for the
local police station, identified one of the bodies as
that of Charito Balunan, a 26-year-old male of barangay
Paril, San Isidro, Leyte.
The
body was found by a fisherman floating off barangay
Buenavista, Castilla, Sorsogon, early morning Sunday. It
was retrieved from the water by local policemen for
documentation and immediate burial.
Almost the same time, two other human bodies, a male and
a female, were found off nearby barangays Quirapi and
Tomalaytay, Calleja said.
The
bodies did not have identification documents, he said.
All
the three bodies were buried in the Roman Catholic
cemetery in the locality but Senior Insp. Dennis de
Leon, Castilla police chief, said these could be exhumed
once claimed by relatives or any interested parties.
At
the same time, Speaker Prospero Nograles recommended
that the ongoing House of Representatives investigation
into the MV Princess of the Stars tragedy be expanded to
cover other cases involving other domestic watercraft in
the past.
Nograles made the recommendation following reports that
there have actually been 45 accidents involving vessels
owned by Sulpicio Lines, and not four as earlier
reported, since the 1980s. He cited reports from the
maritime research company Lloyd’s MIU.
Nograles said Sulpicio Lines’ disturbing safety record
is an undeniable proof of the company’s reckless
disregard in ensuring safety at sea and the negligence
of the officials of the Department of Transportation and
Communications (DOTC), the Coast Guard and the Maritime
Industry Authority (Marina), “who are sleeping on the
job.”
Nograles said that 45 accidents involving a single
shipping company is not considered normal.
He
said it has now become obvious that negligence and
recklessness, owing to incompetent government
supervision, are also to be blamed for these accidents.
“The
House investigation should also cover the past records
of sea disasters, because this would help us discover
the lapses of certain water-vessel operators and
maritime officials at ensuring sea safety and the
sea-worthiness of every ship,” Nograles said.
“We
should also look at the sea disasters from the time our
DOTC, Marina and other shipping officials assumed office
so that we can see the pattern of competence of these
personalities. They should be held accountable for their
negligence in the performance of their duties,” he
added.
Citing reports, Nograles said that vessels owned by
Sulpicio Lines have been involved in 45 cases of midsea
accidents for the past 28 years, or an average of nearly
two accidents per year.
“This
disturbing track record of Sulpicio only shows that the
vessel operators and the maritime regulators have no
regard for the safety of their ships and their
passengers. There can be no other explanation for that,”
he said.
Contrary to reports that Sulpicio Lines had only four
sinking incidents, the Lloyd’s MIU said seven of its
vessels have sunk since 1980.
Nograles said the Lloyd’s MIU reports revealed that, all
in all, six vessels have collided with other ships, six
had caught fire, seven had engine problems and were
stalled at sea, and 19 had been run aground. The
deadliest incident was the 1987 sinking of the MV Doña
Paz after it collided with the tanker MT Vector where as
many as 4,300 people perished.
Sulpicio Lines also owns MV Doña Marilyn, which sunk in
October 1988, killing 150 passengers and crew members
and the MV Princess of the Orient, which suffered the
same fate in September of 1998—also killing 150
passengers and crew members. Another sinking incident
involved the Sulpicio Container I in 1980 with no
casualties. |
