CEBU - At least 20 survivors of the ill-fated MV Asia South Korea said in sworn statements that the crew hid them in the cargo area and inside cabins when the Coast Guard conducted a second headcount before clearing the vessel.
But Pepito Suello, a lawyer-member of the special marine board of inquiry, said that unless the 20 survivors testify before the board, their allegations would remain hearsay.
As expected, officials of the ill-fated ship denied hiding the passengers.
The 20 survivors from Iloilo will be asked to appear before the board early next month. Their sworn statements were taken by the Coast Guard in Iloilo.
At Friday's hearing, Gregorio Caballero, purser of MV Asia South Korea, denied he told passengers, who had tickets but were late in boarding the vessel, to stay at the cargo area while the Coast Guard was conducting the second inspection.
Ronel Bermejo, one of the survivors, said in his sworn statement that the purser brought him to a cargo hold where about 80 passengers were hidden while the headcount was in progress.
Before the vessel left Cebu on the night of Dec. 22, the Coast Guard conducted a second passenger headcount as the first inspection showed there were already 695 passengers, an excess of 81 from the ship's authorized passenger capacity of 614.
Caballero insisted the crew did not hide any passengers. He, however, admitted issuing tickets to about 20 passengers on board when the ship was already under way.
He told The Freeman that the 20 passengers were not listed in the passenger manifest.
Caballero also admitted in an interview that he did not report the excess passengers to the captain as it was past midnight and that he was already very tired.
For his part, Pedro Alfafara, the ship's chief steward, admitted that there were passengers on board without tickets despite the company policy of "no ticket, no boarding."
But both Alfafara and Caballero maintained the company's claim that there were only 606 passengers on board despite the fact that 699 survivors were rescued while the bodies of 59 fatalities were recovered.
The MV Asia South Korea sank off Bantayan Island early morning of Dec. 23 after the ship strayed off its course and hit a reef.
All the 52 crew members and 12 officers on board survived the sea mishap.