Press Release
July 2, 2008

Records of sea worthiness of vessels must be scrutinized -- Angara

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today said that government must issue licenses to shipping lines only if it has completely established disaster preparedness measures and provided clean sea disaster records.

"It is unfortunate that many Filipinos have to risk their lives first before realizing that there is a need to enforce stricter rules on voyage. Prior to this sea tragedy, government must have records of the sea worthiness of vessels especially its violations of simple but essential regulations on sea transport," Angara said.

Sulpicio Lines Inc. is allowed to operate amidst is questionable safety record in the country.

Recently, seven other passenger vessels of Sulpicio Lines have been found defective by the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA).

Already inspected by MARINA are the Princess of the South, Princess of the Earth, Cagayan Princess, which are all in Cebu; the Princess of Paradise in Cagayan; Palawan Princess in Baybay, Leyte; and the Princess of the Universe and Princess of Ocean, both dry-docked.

The sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars off Sibuyan Island is the 4th maritime disaster involving vessels owned by Sulpicio Lines. Three others were as follows: MV Doña Paz, which sunk after colliding with an oil tanker at Tablas Strait on December 20, 1987; MV Doña Marilyn, which sunk after seeking clearance to sail for Tacloban City although Storm Signal No. 3 had been raised over Leyte; and MV Princess of the Orient, which sank near the mouth of Manila Bay on Sept. 18, 1998.

"The only way we can make our people less miserable of natural calamity is if we have our own capacity to deal with disaster. There is no substitute for preparedness," Angara said.

In mid-2005 when a tsunami hit many parts of Asia, Angara called on the Senate to look into how best to join the international effort to develop a global warning system, study the country's domestic capability, and prepare the population on how to cope with the phenomenon.

On Tuesday, Sulpicio Lines Inc., owner of the M/V Princess of the Stars that sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon, filed at the Manila Regional Trial Court a P4.4 million damage suit against PAG-ASA for its alleged gross incompetence and irresponsibility for providing inaccurate weather forecast on typhoon "Frank".

"We cannot prevent disasters to happen but certainly we can establish efficient measures to prevent the loss of lives as well as damage to property in times of calamity. For many years, PAGASA has been providing ample warning bulletins to the public. I believe that the problem lies on weak decision-making on the part of Sulpicio Lines and its ship captains. If they were only to exercise prudent decisions on its voyage, the sinking of the MV Princess of the Stars could have been prevented," Angara stressed.

Manila was reportedly under typhoon signal No. 1 when the Princess of the Stars sailed, but signal No. 2 was already up in Romblon by the time it reached the vicinity.

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