‘Sea marshals’ deployed in inter-island vessels

To prevent a repeat of the SuperFerry bombing in 2002 that left more than 100 people dead, police have deployed “sea marshals” in inter-island vessels traversing the “nautical highway” linking Metro Manila to the Visayas and Mindanao.

Officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and concerned government agencies and shipowners agreed to the deployment of the sea marshals during a dialogue on Wednesday.

Chief Superintendent Luisito Palmera, police director of Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), said the sea marshals are tasked to accost suspicious-looking passengers and inspect or examine all baggage for possible bombs and their components.

“The deployment of sea marshals is one of the preemptive measures we are employing to prevent the SuperFerry tragedy which not only shocked the nation but the world as well,” Palmera said.

The Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the SuperFerry bombing in the Mindoro Strait in 2002.

Palmera presided over the dialogue among officials of the Coast Guard, the Mimaropa and Calabarzon police commands, and Maritime Group at Camp Vicente Lim in Canlubang, Calamba City.

Among those who attended the meeting were Capt. Avelino Fortuna, security officer of the Montenegro Shipping Lines; Merlita Decena, administrative officer of Blue Magic Ferry, and Jess Supan, vice president for safety of the Aboitiz group of companies.

Palmera said they agreed to deploy two uniformed policemen in every “ro-ro (roll on, roll off)” vessel sailing from Batangas to the Visayas and Mindanao.

The shipping companies, he said, would provide the daily meals and living quarters of the sea marshals.

“They, too, would provide the sea marshals with metal detectors, which would play a key role in their effort to locate bombs and their components,” he added.

According to Palmera, his command is also beefing up checkpoints to secure passenger buses carrying ro-ro passengers.

He said Maj. Gen. Delfin Bangit, commanding officer of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division based in Tanay, Rizal, will also share with the PNP the responsibility of securing highways.

The PNP and AFP are maintaining checkpoints along the highways of Mindoro island, Roxas City, Romblon and Aklan.

Palmera said the sea marshals will work in coordination with the Coast Guard and the Philippine Ports Authority.

After 100 days of operation, Palmera said they will meet again with the shipowners to determine lapses in the deployment of sea marshals and “fine-tune (it) to make our security operations fool-proof.”