Tulfo wants Marina, PCG probed on boat accident

MANILA, Philippines — As the Senate prepares to investigate the capsizing of a passenger boat in Laguna Lake that killed 27 people, Sen. Raffy Tulfo said he wants a probe to focus on the accountability of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).

Speaking to Senate reporters yesterday, Tulfo said he finds it perplexing that only crewmembers or vessel owners had been made accountable or criminally charged in past maritime accidents in the country.

“In many cases, ship owners escaped punishment,” he said in Filipino.

He said not anyone from Marina or PCG has ever been punished for culpability in maritime mishaps.

“I’ll push that someone gets imprisoned here. The PCG should have an inspector on board 24/7 and a boat should not be allowed to leave without approval. Before a boat sails, a PCG man should board it, check if it’s not overloaded or if the passengers have their life vests on. In this case, there were no life vests,” he said.

He said PCG personnel and officials should be charged criminally and administratively for the Laguna Lake tragedy. “They (PCG) should be prosecuted.”

“The PCG said they will sue the boat crew including the captain. For me, it’s bullshit, they are fooling the people. The PCG inspector assigned to that port should be the first to be charged; and next the PCG supervisor for command responsibility,” he said. “If the PCG had done its job, no boat would have sunk.”

The senator also said he would look into the possibility that PCG personnel had been bribed to allow the vessel to sail.

Tulfo has filed a resolution calling for an immediate Senate investigation of the capsizing last Thursday of Aya Express in Laguna de Bay near Binangonan. It was the second maritime disaster this year.

Last March, 33 people died in a ferry fire in Basilan.

The senator said investigation on the tragedy would likely be led by the committee on public services chaired by Sen. Grace Poe. Poe has filed a similar resolution.

Tulfo said ensuring prison terms for erring PCG and Marina personnel would likely reduce significantly or prevent altogether maritime tragedy caused by negligence.

“If someone like the supervisor gets jailed here, I’ll have two of my fingers cut off if incidents of boat sinking don’t go down by 100 or 95 percent,” he said in Filipino.

In her Resolution No.704, Poe cited the need for revising maritime safety compliance.

“This tragedy revealed serious maritime safety compliance lapses that need to be revisited to determine whether the regulations are insufficient to provide and ensure safe voyage of individuals at sea or whether there is simply complacency in the implementation,” she said.

“Those responsible for the death of the 27 individuals and the trauma of the 43 rescued victims should be held accountable for this incident,” Poe said in her resolution.

“This tragedy revealed serious maritime safety compliance lapses that need to be revisited to determine whether the regulations are insufficient to provide and ensure safe voyage of individuals at sea or whether there is simply complacency in the implementation,” she added.

Poe also pointed out the need for a National Transport Safety Board, which she has long been pushing for. The Board will independently investigate land, air and sea accidents, determine probable causes, and issue safety recommendations and studies to prevent their recurrence.

She also said Marina must abide by its mandate under Section 9 of Republic Act 9295 which states that: “All vessels operated by domestic ship operators shall at all times be in seaworthy condition properly equipped with adequate life-saving, communication, safety and other equipment operated and maintained in accordance with the standards set by Marina, and manned by duly licensed and competent vessel crew.”