Senator Raffy Tulfo on Monday filed a resolution seeking an investigation of officials of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Industry Authority for possible negligence that led to the deaths of 27 passengers after the motorbanca Princess Aya capsized off Binangonan, Rizal on 27 July.
Tulfo’s Senate Resolution No. 705 seeks to investigate “the factors contributing to the capsizing of the boat and identify lapses in safety protocols or negligence of PCG, MARINA, and other concerned individuals and agencies that may have led to this unfortunate incident.”
In filing the resolution, Tulfo stressed that high-ranking officials of the PCG and MARINA who are guilty of “neglect of duty” must become accountable “in the name of command responsibility.”
“In most cases, a sunken ship or boat’s crew members are often the ones punished and sent to jail,” Tulfo lamented.
He then noted that the M/B Princess Aya tragedy would have not happened if the PCG and MARINA had properly performed “their duties and responsibilities.”
“PCG and MARINA are the relevant government authorities responsible for overseeing and regulating maritime safety in the country,” he said.
Citing reports on the incident, Tulfo said MARINA failed to check the “seaworthiness” of Princess Aya before allowing it to sail.
Following the boat accident, MARINA suspended the safety certificate of the M/B Princess Aya Express.
But Tulfo said the issuance of a “Passenger Ship Certificate” should have been strictly implemented in the first place.
In the latest investigation report by the PCG Incident Command, the boat was allowed to sail with a capacity of 30 passengers based on the manifest list, but 70 individuals were actually on board the boat before the incident happened.
Authorities found out that there were insufficient life vests for passengers while the boat was also facing inclement weather conditions.
Tulfo said the PCG inspector, assigned to check boats at the dock site before sailing, failed to flag such issues.
Citing a comment from a sea expert, Tulfo said the M/B Princess Aya’s beam “was not properly and appropriately designed to support more than 30 passengers.”
“There’s a need for MARINA to properly inspect, along with a marine engineer, all boats being rented or use for public water transportation before issuing any permit to operate moving forward,” Tulfo stressed.
Meanwhile, Tulfo said the results of the investigation over the incident “should be utilized to improve safety standards for marine vessels, addressing issues such as overloading, vessel stability, adherence to passenger capacity limits, emergency preparedness and crew training.”
The results of the inquiry, he added, could be useful for the government in reviewing and enhancing existing legislation on maritime regulations.
Tulfo is likewise eyeing to craft a bill that would further exact accountability from the PCG and MARINA officers should maritime accidents occur due to negligence.
“This would assure that the PCG and MARINA officers, along with their supervisors, will face charges and jail time every time a ship or a boat capsizes due to their negligence,” he added.