EDITORIAL - Standoff on safety

After one of the many deadly shipping disasters that occur in this country every year, the administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority, Ma. Elena Bautista, issued new maritime safety guidelines to protect the public. The shipping industry responded by threatening to stage a “maritime holiday.” She responded with her own threat: to suspend the franchise or certificate of public conveyance of shipping companies that would join the holiday. The industry retaliated by demanding Bautista’s head. A taxpayer suit also demanded Bautista’s ouster, saying her appointment violated a constitutional prohibition on dual positions in government.

Yesterday President Arroyo opted for a compromise: she suspended the implementation of the new safety rules, averting the shipping holiday that was scheduled for tomorrow, but only after Palace officials made it known that she was in no hurry to replace Bautista. Last week the Supreme Court had ruled that the designation of Bautista, undersecretary for maritime transport at the Department of Transportation and Communications, as MARINA officer-in-charge violated the constitutional prohibition on dual positions. President Arroyo may one day have to account for violating a constitutional prohibition.

In this archipelago where maritime transportation is a cheap and therefore popular mode of traveling from one island to another, the shipping industry has a dismal safety record. Despite numerous disasters that have claimed the lives of thousands of people and caused some of the worst environmental problems in the world, progress in fleet modernization and promotion of maritime safety has been slow. So-called floating coffins continue to ply many shipping routes. Even some major shipping companies take a cavalier attitude toward basic safety measures such as proper ship engine maintenance, the provision of life vests for every passenger, and the maintenance of complete, accurate passenger manifests.

At this point it looks like Bautista will get to keep at least one of her two hats, and the ships will continue to sail. But the nation will just have to wait until a new administration initiates sweeping measures to make maritime transportation safe.