Government Action

The MV Princess of the Stars' sinking which claimed hundreds of lives and its toxic cargo of endosulfan threatening the Sibuyan Sea have prompted the Philippine House committee on transportation to cut short its break and conduct a probe into the tragedy weeks before Congress resumes session. Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella said his committee has scheduled a congressional inquiry on July 7 to establish the accountability of the sectors involved in the sinking of the vessel in stormy seas off Romblon two weekends Blame has been passed around among Sulpicio Line executives, the Philippine Coast Guard that gave the vessel the proceed to Cebu despite Typhoon "Frank" wreaking havoc in the Visayas and the PAGASA that allegedly gave inadequate warnings.

The congressional inquiry has been scheduled despite the ongoing investigation of the Board of Marine Inquiry of the fourth maritime disaster involving Sulpicio Lines. Rep. Nograles said that the inquiry should be aimed at instituting legislation that will strengthen the country's present maritime laws. - to review the country’s maritime policies and laws. More than 5,000 innocent lives have already been claimed by maritime disasters in the last 21 years, averaging 182 reported cases per year.

"Once and for all, policies and laws concerning maritime transport and port operations must be consolidated, including the licensure and training of maritime captains and personnel—even government maritime officials and personnel," Nograles said.

"Safety should be a prime consideration for policy makers and policy implementers," he added.

Source: Shiptalk News dated June 29, 2008

Personal Note: The government should have done this years ago. The figures are there but nobody seems to have given that much importance. The policies have always been in place - implementation is the biggest problem!!!