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TO
prevent another maritime accident like the capsizing of
Sulpicio Line Inc.’s (SLI) MV Princess of the Stars on
June 21 at the height of Typhoon Frank, a legislator
proposed that passenger ships be required to have their
own reliable weather equipment, and not simply rely on
the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration (Pagasa).
At the
same time, Lakas Rep. Josy Limkaichong of Negros
Oriental called for the full implementation of the
various laws on the maritime industry to prevent the
occurrence of such disasters.
“While a
congressional investigation in aid of legislation is in
order, we must not lose track of the fact that there are
just so many laws on the maritime industry and we must
see to it that they are fully implemented,” said
Limkaichong in a news forum in Quezon City on Thursday.
Having
lost 11 constituents in the Princess of the Stars
tragedy, Limkaichong said the government should see to
it that ships have their own reliable weather equipment.
Meanwhile, Independent Rep. Roilo Golez of Parañaque
urged the justice department and the solicitor general
to speed up court proceedings to attach the assets of
both Sulpicio and Del Monte to guarantee payment of
their potential liability for the cost of salvage and
consequential damages, such as destroying the livelihood
of Romblon and nearby provinces.
Golez
said he fears that those responsible might default on
their obligation and just seek shelter in a protracted
court litigation after it was revealed that the safe
removal of MV Princess of the Stars could cost a
staggering $50 million $100 million, or from P2 billion
to P4.5 billion.
Besides
Sulpicio, Golez said Del Monte, as shipper and owner of
the endosulfan cargo, could also be held liable for not
exercising due diligence in ensuring its highly
dangerous cargo was handled with extreme care and would
not expose human beings and the environment to the
deadly substance.
Edgar
Go, Sulpicio first vice president, welcomed Golez’s move
and thanked him for his objectivity and fairness.
“However, we will not wait for Del Monte to assume its
responsibility. We are going ahead with the plans to
extract the toxic cargo at the soonest possible time.
Stopping the ecological bomb from ticking is foremost in
our minds. We will deal with Del Monte’s legal
liabilities later,” he added.
Meanwhile, Go said Sulpicio is close to finalizing its
agreement for Titan as the appointed salvager to begin
work at the soonest time possible to extract the
endosulfan cargo.
“We are
in constant touch with the representatives of Titan
Salvage in Singapore,” Go said, giving assurances that
“SLI is doing its utmost to expedite and complete the
contract with the salvager given the very urgent and
delicate task of removing the misdeclared Del Monte
cargo.”
He
explained that SLI has been holding talks with Titan
Salvage “all this time in close coordination with
[Transportation] Undersecretary Elena Bautista.”
Go
reiterated Sulpicio’s three priorities at the moment—the
immediate and safe extraction of the Del Monte-owned
toxic substance, livelihood support for affected
families in San Fernando, Romblon, and continuing
assistance to the victims’ families.
Meanwhile, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) will
have to resolve the issue on whether or not to allow
representatives of the Office of the Solicitor General
(OSG) to participate in the hearings for the
cancellation of SLI’s franchise.
The
Marina four-man hearing panel, headed by deputy
administrator Primo Rivera, is set to resolve the issue
at today’s scheduled hearing, after both OSG, which acts
the government counsel in all of its agencies’ lawsuits,
and the Sulpicio camps, filed their respective stands on
the issue on Wednesday.
The
panel’s decision today is crucial to the hearings, as
further delay will leave an opening for Sulpicio’s legal
counsel, Arthur Lim, to question the participation of
OSG representatives in the proceedings, which, so far,
has only produced one witness.
In
Tuesday’s hearing, cut short by the scheduled
congressional hearing on the same issue, Lim had again
raised the issue after the OSG representatives gave
instructions to Marina prosecutor Virgilio Calag, from
the agency’s Marine Legal Affairs Office, during the
proceedings.
“OSG is
eager to participate and is very much interested [on the
issue]. I don’t know why OSG is showing its undue
interest in this case,” Lim said.
A brief
debate ensued between the two sides after Lim raised the
issue that this is the first time that he has seen a
keen eagerness of OSG on an issue outside the court
room. The hearing is not a quasi-judicial function and
only focused on the franchise of Sulpicio to operate in
the country.
He also
asked if the OSG representatives have proper
authorization from all government agencies concerned.
“There
must be a formal ruling on this issue,” Lim added.
Marina’s
Rivera earlier explained that they have tapped the
services of OSG to represent the agency on the hearings,
which hopes to determine if Sulpicio has failed to
follow several safety requirements of its franchise,
called Certificate of Public Convenience.
Sulpicio
first raised the issue on July 15, which delayed the
proceedings and prevented a witness from Philippine
Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration from being questioned by both parties.
The
Marina panel then decided that OSG representatives will
only “assist” the prosecutor and will not participate in
the proceedings. |
