Sulpicio ordered to pay P16-M fine for ramming Iloilo port

Well, it’s something like Peter’s Principle. Shortly after the Sulpicio Lines had undergone a lot of expenses for the MV Princess of the Stars’ sinking off Sibuyan in Romblon, the shipping company was again slapped a P16-million fine after its MV Cotabato Princess rammed the ongoing Fort San Pedro construction project in Iloilo City. That was an accident. But it also exposed the alleged poor pay for port pilots in Iloilo City. Actually, Cotabato Princess docked at the Iloilo port without a harbor pilot.

This came after Undersecretary for Transportation and Communications Elena Bautista had ordered Marina to investigate the harbor master of the Iloilo port to answer why the Sulpicio ship was allowed to dock at the Iloilo harbor sans the support from the Iloilo pilot.

It turns out that the harbor pilots are charging only P300 per vessel for their help in docking.

Thus, it seems that the pilots have been discouraged from assisting docking ships; their expenses for gasoline alone cannot compensate for their services.

Philippine Ports Authority is the one which regulates the hiring of harbor pilots to assist ships that dock at the Iloilo port and other ports in the country.

That was hard luck for Cotabato Princess which reportedly destroyed 16 piles and a crane boom last week.

But after that incident, it was allowed to sail out again the next day without a formal hearing into the incident.

No word has been received from the PPA on how long it would take to replace the piles and recover the crane boom.

For the moment, though, the Marine Board of Inquiry would try to finish its hearings into the sinking of the Princess of the Stars which resulted in the death of some 800 passengers.

But prior to the final windup of its investigation into the Sibuyan Sea tragedy, the Marina had allowed Sulpicio lines to allow its cargo fleet to resume operations.

Marina is reportedly poised to adjust the rates of Iloilo harbor pilots so they will be given the necessary incentives to guide docking ships to port.

The Cotabato Princes reportedly docked at the Iloilo harbor with only the boat’s skipper guiding the ship. He complained about the heavy current and strong waves that caused the boat to ram against the pier.

Meanwhile, there was also the good news. Negros Navigation had its newest vessel, M/V San Agustin Uno, blessed and launched yesterday at the Banago port in Bacolod.

M/V San Agustin Uno held its maiden voyage yesterday. It will serve the ports of Manila, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga City.

The ship has a gross tonnage of 3,062 and has a capacity of 216 TEUs. It is 99.4 meters long.

Pablo Torres, NN regional operations manager for the Visayas, said NN’s excellent record in safety handling and safety measures assures shippers of quality service.

NN also has a well-planned stowage. This ensures vessel safety with security measures that include special seals to secure containers, security escorts for sensitive cargo transport, and ramp cameras on cargo deck, according of the shipping firm’s officials.

That, of course, provides Negros Occidental an ancillary shipping line for its outgoing cargo.

Probe ‘vigilantes’

The so-called vigilante group in Negros Occidental maintained a high-profile media blitz the past few days. This gave rise to skepticism about them. Their latest caper was the call to ABS-CBN that named Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella and Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia as among their targeted personalities. So with Pulupandan Mayor Magdaleno Peña.

That prompted PNP regional chief Isagani Cuevas to order a thorough probe into the existence of the group, pointing out that what they are doing, if proven, is illegal.

Senior Superintendent Ronilo Quebrar, Bacolod police chief, does not believe that such a vigilante group exists. But he hastily added that the police are investigating the matter.

A spokesman of the group told the dyEZ radio station that their group originally operated in Davao City. They, however, decided to transfer to Negros Occidental when the situation in that city got hot.

The group also said they were behind the death of two persons whose remains were found in Bago City last week.

Benito Uy, one of the two, had been snatched by armed men aboard an L-300 van shortly after his release by the Valladolid police. Police failed to catch up with the abductors and their victim. Later, they found Uy dumped in Bago City.

The group also claimed to have already liquidated some 20 people in the province.

They also claimed that they are out to liquidate rugby boys at the Bacolod Plaza, saying their primary purpose is to liquidate people who cheat, rape and kill innocent people.

Peña and Leonardia as well as Congressman Puentevella dismissed the so-called vigilantes.

“I will stop doing my job as city mayor, I will continue to serve in accordance with my pledge to the people,” quipped Leonardia.

“I’m too busy to worry about that,” Puentevella dismissed the group’s statement.

The thing that is bothersome is whether pranksters or jokers were taking advantage of the situation by trying to sow panic among Negrenses with their claims of summary executions of known personalities.

That’s something the police and the National Bureau of Investigation should be able to track down.