At
After the Speaker’s speech and the opening session ceremonies, we adjourned in order to prepare for the afternoon’s Special Joint Session of Congress to hear the President’s SONA. For sure, the media will highlight the impromptu fashion show, owing to the fact that many who attend the SONA dress up for the occasion. Then it will be followed by the courtside commentaries on the President’s speech.
One newspaper coined the word “sulpicious” to refer to the highly questionable and uncanny developments surrounding the circumstances that followed the sinking of the Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) flagship — Princess of the Stars — in Romblon waters.
While general public opinion weighed so heavily against SLI’s insensitive treatment of victims’ families and the shipping firm’s temerity to blame everyone else, the SLI backers have started to crawl from out of the woodwork.
Flouting its P200,000 ‘financial assistance’ to the families of victims (to whom this amount was due anyway from their insurance), SLI then proceeded to focus its money and resources in trying to salvage a heavily besmirched image and prevent imminent closure by going on a suing spree.
They have sued the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) and even one of their regular cargo customers — Del Monte.
Why SLI’s lawyers wanted the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to take over the hearings on the sea disaster from the BMI and why the House of Representatives have so eagerly entered the scene simultaneous to ongoing inquiries are questions that have only reinforced public suspicion.
In the light of the credible BMI investigation — so credible that SLI sought to change the venue — Congress should have allowed the BMI to finish its task before seeking to get into the act.
As Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon aptly pointed out during the July 7 House hearing, the Princess of the Orient (also owned by SLI) sea disaster inquiry already provided in 1999 the recommendations on how to avert these sea tragedies. In effect, Ruffy Biazon suggested that the July 7 House hearing could well be redundant in the light of what have already been discovered almost 10 years ago and have been given the proper prescriptions.
Rep. Biazon, along with Reps. Risa Hontiveros and Roilo Golez, were the redeeming members of that House probe.
On television, we witnessed how SLI so strangely got kid-glove treatment at the start of the House inquiry. Administration congressmen like Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman had directed the heat on Pagasa for its alleged inefficiency.
It is impossible to miss the uncanny pattern. At the height of highly controversial issues, some members of either houses of Congress would suddenly call for an inquiry.
Coffee shops have long been buzzing with horror tales of local companies who have been approached and propositioned on how they can avoid being lynched or eaten alive in the course of these inquiries which have been referred to as “inquiries in aid of fund-raising.”
When they are not trying to win votes, the same familiar faces in Congress somehow manage to show up to defend a controversial issue or entity. In other times, they will try to stall for time and prevent a controversial bill from taking off.
If Congress demons can prey on the dead bodies of the sea disaster, they can also prey on the living dead. Such is the case on the issue about tobacco when they vented their fury on staunch anti-smoking advocate and crusader Dr. Maricar Limpin, Executive Director of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance-Philippines (FCAP).
Since December 19, 2007, FCAP has been keenly watching the progress of House Bill 3368, authored by Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza, which “requires the package of all cigarette and other tobacco products to bear highly visible full-color ‘picture-based health warnings’ accompanied by a textual warning that is related to the picture.”
The bill has been delayed many times, thanks to a well-known tactic used by congressmen when they want to prevent the progress of a bill — question the lack of quorum.
Everyone knows that the House hardly ever gets a quorum attendance, thus, making it a favorite scapegoat for tobacco-loving congressmen who obviously cannot argue in defense of the tobacco industry. Dr. Soe Nyunt-U, World Health Organization representative to the
I was not surprised when the full might of the tobacco industry swooped down on Dr. Limpin a month before the total ban on tobacco advertising took effect last July 1. They maligned her and pictured her as an endorser of anti-smoking drugs. Her activism has obviously become highly destructive to the tobacco industry.
I could not help notice the similarity with the tactics used to also attempt to demonize doctors when some congressmen tried to push the controversial House version of the Cheaper Medicines Bill. I was alarmed by the possible passing of the House version and I wrote several columns to expose the anomalies and conflict of interest (a leading proponent is a major generic drugs importer).
By diverting public attention to the real issues, the demons in Congress will keep trying to confuse us. Despite poverty, 34 percent of Filipinos smoke and most smokers happen to belong to the lower income bracket. These are the people who hardly make ends meet and who will not have the money to pay for hospital and medicine bills by the time smoking takes a toll on their health.
As consistently reflected in surveys, Congress as an institution has become the country’s most abominable, most appalling breeding ground for the new generation of underworld. They are so powerful that businessmen who are victims of inquiries in aid of legislative fund-raising will not want to speak up. This is how the bad guys get away with murder.
“Exposing” a non-existent lobby fund is also a favorite ploy. This turns the enemy, the focus of their demolition strategy, into something others will not want to be involved with, lest they be accused of “receiving money from the lobby fund.”
We are so trapped in our rotten system that most Filipinos have preferred to become numb to it all. And this makes the problem even worse because evil thrives when good men do nothing. The question is: do we still have a few good men? Or have the remaining few been effectively muffled by the noise and confusion wrought by the demons in Congress?
Chair Wrecker email and website: macesposo@yahoo.com and www.chairwrecker.com
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
It was the philosopher and writer George Santayana who wrote that in his book, The Life of Reason. There is wisdom in that quote, don't you think?
It was precisely what I had in mind when I commented during the joint hearing of the Committee on Transportation and the Committee on Oversight regarding the MV Princess of the Stars tragedy. I said that first, the committees should focus on the legislation that we will produce from the testimonies in the hearing. Second, we must learn from the lessons of the past so that we will be able to come up with relevant legislation that will prevent, or at least make the repeat of the accident least likely.
When I said that we should learn from the past, I was referring to a specific case in the past, where another Sulpicio Lines ship, the Princess of the Orient, was given clearance to sail out of the port of Manila while a storm was in the Philippine area of responsibility, encountered rough seas and winds, and eventually sank off the Batangas Coast.
With both ships owned by the same company, it is eerie that they had similar circumstances during their final voyage. On second thought, was it eerie or unsurprising? Sulpicio Lines has several ship tragedies in its wake, including the worst sea disaster in history.
Well, as I said in the beginning, we should learn from the mistakes of the past.
The Board of Marine Inquiry which investigated the sinking of the Princess of the Orient and found the master of the ship guilty of erroneous maneuvers and the crew responsible for the substandard lashing of the cargo which resulted in its fatal shifting.
The BMI ended the report with numerous recommendations borne out of the inquiry they conducted. It was a productive inquiry, with a determination of culpability and concrete proposals for the maritime industry. And the final paragraph of the report gave a grim reminder and a chilling forecast. The Board said:
"...considering the facts and recommendations presented in this report, all of us would agree that there are still more things to be done to rectify the situation. Some of the recommended program of actions needs to be addressed by Congress. It is on this light that the Board is respectfully requesting Congress to legislate the afore-cited recommendations necessary to reform the present system in maritime safety administration. Tragedies such as the M/V Princess of the Orient incident and others like it in the past are likely to recur unless concrete measures are undertaken to reform the present system."
What are those recommendations which the BMI believed would reform the system and prevent the recurrence of such tragedies? I would like to share these recommendations, although in the interest of space, I'll just post the headings of the paragraphs per recommendation (in italics):
The BMI recommended the creation of a National Transportation Safety Commission (Maritime Division) which it saw as an "independent government agency to promote transportation safety (maritime safety in case of shipping) by conducting independent accident investigations and by formulating safety improvement recommendations".
The BMI recommended the formulation of a policy requiring the ship owner to submit new stability book (hydrostatic table) for ships that have undergone reconfigured construction prior to registration.
The BMI recommended that all alteration plans of existing ships in the domestic trade must be reviewed by an internationally recognized Classification Society.
The BMI recommended that any proposed alteration of the original ship's design shall have a written consent and approval of the original builder of the ship.
The BMI recommended that shipowners shall be required to submit the stowage plan and stability calculation of their ships to the Philippine Coast Guard prior to the issuance of departure clearance.
The BMI stressed the "need to repair the weighing bridge at North Harbor".
The BMI recommended that Shipowners shall be required to develop an "in-house" training for their seafarers particularly focusing on emergency shipboard evolutions, cargo handling procedures, stability calculations, ship handling on emergency situations, among many others.
The BMI recommended that the Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Industry Authority should ensure that their personnel are technically competent and qualified to undertake marine survey/inspection of ships and to issue corresponding safety certificates.
The BMI emphasized the "need to institutionalize a Safety and Quality Management System in the Shipping Industry and the concerned Government Offices.
The BMI recommended that the bill institutionalizing the Philippine Coast Guard with the Department of Transportation and Communications be fast tracked.
The BMI recommended the acquisition of state-of-the-art Search and Rescue Vessels.
The BMI recommended the update of Communications requirements on all ships plying the domestic trade.
The BMI recommended the creation of a provisional Maritime Commission to look into the state of maritime safety in the country with the end in view of aiding maritime development in the Philippines.
Out of these thirteen recommendations, I know that at least five were not pursued by government.
One of these recommendations has been overdue for a long time now, with or without the recommendation of the BMI. The creation of a National Transportation Safety Board, an independent government body specifically tasked to investigate accidents in air, sea, and land (rail and public transport) which would determine the causes of these accidents, identify those responsible and propose measures that would prevent recurrence of such mishaps.
Anyone who has watched Air Crash Investigators in National Geographic Channel knows the importance of having such an agency. In that program, it shows how the US NTSB has made flying more safer due to the work they have done.
For example, there was a crash of a 747 back in the 90's which, after a thorough investigation by the NTSB, was determined to have been caused by the overloading of the electrical wiring of the entertainment system on board the aircraft. At that time, on board entertainment was in its infancy, with that particular aircraft being one of the first to use individual video screens for passengers. It turns out that when all the passengers simultaneously use their on board entertainment system, the electrical wiring gets overloaded and heats up. Eventually, it created a spark and ignited the jetfuel fumes circulating in the aircraft's wing.
The Princess of the Orient BMI recognized the need for such an agency, with particular stress on the body being independent. Their recommendation will result in the abolition of the BMI yet they proposed it anyway because they acknowledge that there could be an instance in the future when the Philippine Coast Guard itself will be in a cloud of doubt and investigated for its role in a maritime accident. Being a part of the BMI, it would be an awkward, if not incorrect situation where the investigator is tasked to investigate itself.
Having said that, the question is “Who needs to act on the proposal?”
Well, as the BMI report correctly pointed out, it is Congress' role to do it. A law needs to be passed in order to put life into that recommendation. But sad to say, Congress has failed to do it. It has been nine years from the time the recommendation was made but up to this day, we are still operating under the conditions that prevailed during the time of the Princess of the Orient's sinking. What was it that Santayana said about those who don't remember the past.....?
I first filed the bill creating the NTSB back in 2004 during my second term. Alas, the 13th Congress came and went but the bill slept in the files of Congress, not earning the interest of the committee. I re-filed it this Congress last July 2007 but up to today, it has not been taken up in a hearing. Ironically, the committee to which this bill was referred to is the same Committee doing the inquiry into the tragedy of the MV Princess of the Stars. Sad to say, it even seems that no one has noticed that there are bills pertaining to the maritime industry, several of which were borne from the BMI's recommendations, that are pending in that committee.
That's why on the day of the hearing, I issued a press statement highlighting the need to focus on the legislation pending in Congress in order to drum up public consciousness on the role that Congress is playing in this drama. We are not there to render judgment but to provide policy through legislation.
As a consequence of the recommendations of the BMI in 1999 and in pursuit of reforms in the maritime industry and , I filed the following bills in 2007:
House Bill No. 70 - AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD AS A SEPARATE AND DISTINCT SERVICE ATTACHED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS, FURTHER AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5173, AS AMENDED AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
House Bill No. 73 - AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE MARITIME AND OCEAN AFFAIRS CENTER AS AN ATTACHED AGENCY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, PROVIDING FOR ITS FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
House Bill No. 77 - AN ACT CREATING A NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
House Bill No. 78 - AN ACT INCREASING THE PENALTY IMPOSED AGAINST POLLUTERS OF NAVIGABLE WATERS BY AMENDING SECTION 7 OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 979 PROVIDING FOR THE REVISION OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 600 GOVERNING MARINE POLLUTION
House Bill No. 87 - AN ACT CONSOLIDATING ADMIRALTY AND MARITIME LAWS TO MODERNIZE THE MARITIME INDUSTRY, PROMOTE AND REGULATE MERCHANT MARINE ACTIVITIES, RATIONALIZE THE ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES RELATED TO ADMIRALTY AND MARITIME MATTERS, AND INSURE THE PROTECTION OF THE MARINE WEALTH IN THE PHILIPPINE TERRITORY
These bills provide the starting point for Congress to work for the development and enhancement of maritime safety in the Philippines. It is ironic that in spite of being an archipelagic country with more than 7,000 islands and heavy dependence on sea-going vessels for transport of people, services, goods and cargo, we seem to be taking these matters lightly.
Of course it cannot be avoided that during the hearings, the questions asked would touch on who is liable, but in the end, we should come up with ways to provide solutions. But we need not look too far for the solutions. All we need is to remember the past, in order not to be condemned to repeat it.
In my previous blog, I discussed why I'm of the belief that there isn't enough to pin the blame on PAGASA with regard to the sinking of the MV Princess of the Orient.
A good question was raised by one of those who commented on what I wrote. She asked if the captain of the ship knew that the typhoon changed its course. It's a crucial question in determining who may be at fault.
As revealed in the committee hearing, PAGASA was able to provide information about the storm and they were able to issue bulletins which were disseminated both to key government agencies and the public. It had no obligation under the law to directly contact the ship to give information on the weather bulletins.
PAGASA is mandated to inform key agencies such as the Philippine Coast Guard and the National Disaster Coordinating Council in order for them to make informed and correct decisions.
So what was the Coast Guard's role in all this?
The PCG has 5 primary functions:
1. MARSAD – Maritime Safety Adminsitration
2. MARSAR – Maritime Search and Rescue
3. MAREP – Maritime Environmental Protection
4. MARLEN- Maritime Law Enforcement
5. MAROPS – Maritime Operations
Under one of these functions, particularly MARSAD, the PCG was mandated to give clearances to ocean going vessels for them to sail under particular weather conditions. In order to provide order and serve as rules in the enforcement of MARSAD, the Coast Guard issued a memorandum, PCG MC-04-07, otherwise known as “Revised Guidelines on the Movement of Vessels During Heavy Weather”, dated June 27, 2007.
The general principle of the guidelines is that safety of life at sea shall be the primordial consideration at all times. The guidelines stipulate that the the Coast Guard Commander and the Master of the Ship shall study the movement of typhoons and ensure that the vessel will not be within the area affected by severe weather. The guidelines emphasize that the PCG Station Commander merely assists the Master of the Vessel (the ship captain) in formulating his own decision by providing the necessary information. It is therefore expected that the Ship Owners and Masters will make judgments that will preserve life and property.
Many say that the Coast Guard should not have allowed the ship to sail when signal number 1 was hoisted over Manila, its port of origin. The guidelines, which were formulated in consultation with the Philippine Inter-island Shipping Association, provided that if Severe Weather Signal No. 1 is hoisted over the port of origin, the movement of the vessel is left to the decision and responsibility of the Ship Owner or Master. The Coast Guard merely advises them of the situation.
While it would be easier for the PCG to simply ground everyone during signal number 1, the guidelines were drawn as such because it was the position of the PISA that the decision to set sail should remain with the Ship Owner / Master because of economic considerations.
It is worthy to note that after Typhoon Frank which sunk MV Princess of the Stars, the government issued a new, Interim Guideline which would prevent vessels from sailing when Signal Number 1 is declared. However, the PISA insists that the decision to sail under Signal Number 1 should still remain with the Owner/Master due to possible “economic and social implications”.
Under the Guidelines, the PCG may deny clearance to sail only upon the hoisting of Signal Number 2 and up. In the case of the MV Princess of the Stars, at the time of their departure, 8:00 PM of June 20, signal number 1 was hoisted over Metro Manila, the ships's port of origin, while signal number 2 was hoisted over its destination.
Under the guidelines, the Coast Guard Manila Station could only advise the Ship Master of the weather situation, and the decision to set sail remained with him. At that time, Cebu City Coast Guard had already suspended the departure of vessels from Cebu (the destination of the Princess of the Stars) as early as 7:00 AM of that day.
It is unfortunate that under the Guidelines, Coast Guard station Manila had no choice but to allow the Ship Master to decide whether to sail or not. The guidelines provide that if Signal Number 1 was raised over the origin, route and destination, the Ship Master had the discretion to proceed with the journey. If signal number 2 was raised in the origin, route and destination, only vessels less than 2,000 gross tons were prevented from sailing. The MV Princess of the Stars weighed more than 23,000 gross tons. So even if their port of destination was already under Signal Number 2, they still could sail on their own volition. And sail they did.
Around three hours after the ship set sail from Manila, PAGASA issued Severe Weather Bulletin Number 9 at around 11:00 PM, June 20. In the said bulletin, it was already noted that the typhoon had changed course, and that the storm signals had been upgraded. Metro Manila was then placed under Signal Number 2, the same as the ship's destination, Cebu. But the ship's route had Signal Number 3 hoisted over it (Marinduque and Romblon among others). At that time, the ship just got out of Manila Bay, somewhere in Batangas, where Signal Number 2 was hoisted.
A seasoned mariner would have felt how the seas were at that time. He would have checked what the weather would be like in the route he was passing or the destination he was going. The Coast Guard did not have the capability to communicate with him and neither did they have the authority to stop him. But the ship's owner had the capability to communicate and the authority to stop him.
The Coast Guard reported that CG Station Manila was able to communicate with Sulpicio Lines' radio operator regarding Bulletin Number 9. The radio operator allegedly verified that the MV Princess of the Stars was able to receive the said weather bulletin, as well as Bulletin Number 10 issued at 5:00 AM of June 21.
On the Ship Owners/Operators responsibility, the Guidelines provide that they should:
Ensure that all vessels are properly informed of the weather update, to include the areas where typhoon signals are hoisted.
Discourage any vessel's movement except for sheltering purposes especially when typhoon signals are hoisted or expected to be hoisted within the area of origin, the route and the destination.
Keep track of all weather reports for dissemination purposes as well as monitor all vessel's movements until they reach the port safely.
Inform the Coast Guard immediately of any unusual incident involving maritime safety such as missing craft and/or loss of contact with any of their vessels.
The Coast Guard is tasked to enforce maritime safety, among other functions. But the PCG is, just like other government agencies, saddled with a lack of capabilities. It also lacks authority under existing laws and guidelines. If there is something that can be done to improve maritime safety as a result of this accident, the provision of resources and the passage of new laws or amendment of existing ones are undoubtedly must-dos.
But who is responsible for that? I would have to say that that role belongs to the Legislative Department---the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Last Monday, the Committee on Transportation and the Committee on Oversight conducted the first hearing, in aid of legislation, into the sinking of Sulpicio Lines' MV Princess of the Stars, which brought more than 800 souls to their deaths.
As I said in my press statement that day, the inquiry should focus more on the legislation that should be produced in order to prevent or minimize sea tragedies in our archipelagic country.
Actually, there already are pending legislation, some of which I am the principal author, but are lying in the depths of the piles of bills pending in Congress. But I will get to that later. For now, I would like to share my thoughts on the hearing that was held, which to my mind almost veered off course from where we were supposed to be headed.
As expected, first to be on the questioning block was the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Sciences, commonly known as PAGASA (there's no hyphen between G and A, which would make it the Tagalog word for “HOPE”).
Director Prisco Nilo, the mild-mannered, soft-spoken and obviously low-profile head of the agency, faced off with the congressmen, all eager to get answers to their probing questions.
A couple of questions after he was put on the line, it became apparent that the direction of blame was heading the director's way. There seemed to be a belief that due to PAGASA's faulty weather forecast, the ship met its fatal destination under water. The accuracy of their forecasts, as well as the lack of equipment, came to the forefront of the discussions. It did not help that many people have experienced in the past PAGASA's forecasts of storms yet be toasted in the bask of sunshine. Or the times when clear weather was forecasted but rains dampened everyone's day.
PAGASA was further slammed when it was revealed that despite the allocation of funds for the purchase of doppler radars last year, the same had yet to be actually bought and put into operation. Dir. Nilo had a difficult time answering the impatient questions of the congressmen with regard to the several failure of biddings for the supply of the equipment, leading to the non-procurement of the radars.
It seemed that PAGASA was turning out to be the culprit of the accident. But is it?
In my opinion, there is no firm basis to say that PAGASA is to blame. I'm not absolving them, but what I'm saying is that there isn't enough for me to even be led to believe that they're culpable. For now.
Why so? Well, the first thing to do is to look at the agency's function. As provided by it's legal mandate, PAGASA's functions are:
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, presently existing, is hereby reorganized and shall have the following functions:
Maintain a nationwide network pertaining to observation and forecasting of weather and other climatological conditions affecting national safety, welfare and economy;
Undertake activities relative to observation, collection, assessment and processing of atmospheric and allied data for the benefit of agriculture, commerce and industry;
Engage in studies of geophysical and astronomical phenomena essential to the safety and welfare of the people;
Undertake researches on the structure, development and motion of typhoons and formulate measures for their moderation; and
Maintain effective linkages with scientific organizations here and abroad, and promote exchange of scientific information and cooperation among personnel engaged in atmospheric, geophysical and astronomical studies.
Nowhere is it stated in their functions that they are supposed to prevent land, air or sea vessels from plying their routes in case of a storm. Neither are they expected to manage disasters or coordinate the operations of government agencies during inclement weather such as typhoons.
In general, PAGASA is expected to gather data on the weather, process them and make those available to the agencies that need the information to perform their own functions. Examples would be the Coast Guard, which gives the clearances for ships to sail, the Air Transport Authority, which can ground planes, and the National Disaster Coordinating Council, which is tasked to be the over-all coordinator for disaster management and response.
That's why I found it ridiculous when some took PAGASA to task for not calling the ship to warn them of the weather. It simply is not their job to do that.
Some might say, “well, the principle of garbage in, garbage out applies in this case”. Yes, that maxim is true. There is no debate about that. If PAGASA gave the wrong information to the agencies, then their decisions and judgment calls will become erroneous.
So the question is, did PAGASA give the wrong information?
In order to answer that, it must first be realized that there really is no way to accurately predict or forecast where a typhoon will pass. Scientists can only make an educated prediction based on scientific observations and some established geophysical principles.
For example, it is already known that typhoons in our part of the world generally move westward from the Pacific ocean where they are born. It is also known that typhoons are drawn towards the poles of the hemisphere where they are, that is, typhoons in the northern hemisphere (where the Philippines is) are drawn towards the North Pole. It is also scientifically known that temperature and pressure also affect the movement of typhoons, and all of these and other information, along with the use of special equipment, give them the ability to forecast a typhoon's trajectory.
But typhoons are still natural occurrences that are affected by so many variables. It is therefore difficult, if not impossible, to precisely predict with 100% reliable accuracy, where a typhoon will pass.
Typhoon Hagibis in 2007 is a perfect example of how fickle a typhoon can be. It was forecasted to hit the Bicol region, which prompted evacuations and disaster preparations, but it changed course and avoided the usual route. To top it off, as it was about to leave the Philippine area of responsibility, it suddenly backtracked and reversed its course, going back into Philippine AOR.
Going back to the MV Princess of the Stars tragedy, the relevant question is, “was PAGASA able to provide the right information at the right time?”
Well, in spite of PAGASA's lack of equipment, the agency was able to gather weather data and issue Severe Weather Bulletins. Those weather bulletins were accessible to the government agencies, media outfits and all others who cared about what the weather would be like.
In fact, PAGASA's Weather Bulletin No. 8 was the basis for the Philippine Coast Guard's clearance for the MV Princess of the Stars to set sail. Noteworthy, however, was the one hour and twnety minute gap between PAGASA's issuance of the bulletin, which was at 4:45 PM, and receipt of the bulletin by the PCG's Action Center at 6:07 PM. The ship was given clearance to sail at 8:00 PM.
At 11:00 PM, PAGASA issued Weather Bulletin No. 9 and it indicated the change in course of the typhoon. They also gave a new trajectory forecast which then placed the route of the ship and its destination on a higher Severe Weather Signal. At the time of the bulletin, the ship was somewhere in the vicinity of Batangas and was still in calmer seas. Given the circumstances, there was a reason and there was still time for the ship to seek shelter. It did not.
A comparison of the PAGASA forecast of the typhoon's path and the actual track it took would show that the deviation was not gross. The actual path followed a similar general trajectory as the forecast, not an entirely different course. If the typhoon followed the forecasted track, it might still even have affected, though a lesser degree, the route of the ship.
It is unfortunate that during the hearing, much time was spent grilling the PAGASA official. It only resulted in the deviation from asking the agencies (Marina or Coast Guard) and the shipping company, which I believe have more direct responsibility.
Thankfully, we were able to ask questions to the Coast Guard and Sulpicio Lines. We just did not have enough time and had to adjourn for the day. More on those questions in my next blog entry.
With the start of the hearings of the House Committees on Transportation and Oversight on the tragedy that befell the M/V Princess of the Stars, Muntinlupa City Congressman Ruffy Biazon urged the two committees to focus on legislation that will address any fault in the system in order to prevent lapses and plug loopholes in existing laws.
“While the two committees through the leadership of Speaker Nograles should be commended for their prompt action, they should be reminded that the duty of finding fault and liability with regard to the accident primarily rests on the Board of Marine Inquiry”, said Biazon. “The committees may make recommendations but our primary objective should be to come up with legislation that will provide the legal environment to adequately enforce safety and pursue those who are liable for accidents”, he added.
Biazon, vice-chair of the Committee on Defense and Appropriations, also urged Congress to act on pending legislation that pertain to the Transport and Maritime Industry, especially that the ongoing discussions on recent sea tragedy provides the momentum to tackle relevant pending legislation.
The congressman was referring to bills that he filed in the House of Representatives, namely, House Bill No. 76, which seeks to “Ordain and Institute the Maritime Code of the Philippines”, H.B. 77, proposing to create a National Transportation Safety Board, H.B. 78, which seeks to increase penalties for polluters of the marine environment, and H.B. 87, entitled “ An Act Consolidating Admiralty and Maritime Laws to Modernize the Maritime Industry, Promote and Regulate Merchant Marine Activities, Rationalize the Organization and Functions of Government Agencies Related to Admiralty and Maritime Matters and Insure the Protection of the Marine Wealth in the Philippine Territory”.
“Most of these bills have been pending since I filed them last year”, Congressman Biazon revealed.
“Even the passage of the Coast Guard bill now has an urgency due to this disaster”, he added.
The third term congressman hopes that the numerous lives lost in the sinking of the M/V Princess of the Stars will not be in vain. “Even before I became a member of the House of Representatives, I had participated in inquiries on sea tragedies as a member of the technical staff of a senator. It is sad that until this day, I am on my last term as congressman, these kinds of tragedies repeat themselves, obviously because we have not learned from previous lessons. I hope that with the inquiry of the committees of the 14th Congress, we will at lease diminish, if not totally eradicate, these mishaps”, Biazon concluded.
