Senator Raffy Tulfo seeks the filing of charges against officials of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) for the death of 27 people who died in a motorboat accident at Laguna Lake last Thursday.
Tulfo filed Senate Resolution No. 705 seeking an inquiry into the Princess Aya accident to identify lapses in safety protocols or negligence of the PCG, the MARINA and other concerned individuals and agencies that may have led to the tragedy.
Sen. Grace Poe also filed a similar measure demanding an investigation into the sinking of the ferry boat Princess Aya at the Laguna Lake off Binangonan, Rizal.
Tulfo asserted that the PCG and MARINA officials should be held accountable for command responsibility and neglect of duty over the incident.
In most cases, Tulfo said crew members of a sunken vessel were punished and sent to jail.
Tulfo said that the July 27 tragedy would not have happened if the PCG and the MARINA, as government authorities responsible for overseeing and regulating maritime safety in the country, did their duties and responsibilities.
He pointed out that the ill-fated boat Princess Aya’s maximum capacity was only 30 passengers, but the PCG allowed it to sail with about 70 passengers on board without enough life vests on top of the bad weather conditions at the time.
Tulfo said the PCG officer or inspector assigned to check boats at the dock site before sailing failed to flag these issues.
Tulfo added that the MARINA also failed to determine the seaworthiness of Princess Aya before granting it with “Passenger Ship Certificate (PSSC)” which has been now because of the accident.
Tulfo also found out that Princess Aya’s outriggers were not capable of supporting more than 30 passengers.
He underscored the 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.
“The results of the investigation 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 resolution stated.
Under the measure, Tulfo also proposed a review and enhancement of existing legislation and regulations concerning maritime safety, with a specific focus on addressing issues related to overloading, vessel stability, passenger capacity limits, emergency preparedness, and crew training.
Tulfo said the investigation would also help him in crafting a bill to make sure that PCG and MARINA officers, along with their supervisors, will face charges and jail time, every time a shipor a boat capsizes due to their negligence.
Poe likewise said the PCG should face liability for failure to monitor the number of passengers boarding the boat, validate the truthfulness of the manifest, and consider the harsh weather conditions despite the absence of a storm signal.
She stressed that the MARINA must abide by its mandate under Section 9 of Republic Act No. 9295 which states that: “All vessels operated by domestic ship operators shall at all times be in seaworthy condition properly equipped with adequate life-saving, communication, safety and other equipment operated and maintained in accordance with the standards set by Marina, and manned by duly licensed and competent vessel crew.”
“We will find out if MARINA did its job of inspecting the vessels and equipment on board to ensure compliance with safety standards,” Poe said.
The senator vowed that those responsible for the death of the 27 people and the trauma of the 43 rescued victims would be held liable.
She noted that the tragedy revealed serious maritime safety compliance lapses.
“These (lapses) need to be revisited to determine whether theregulations are insufficient to provide,” she said.
Poe said the probe will inquire into all relevant information to verify reports of overloading, for which the operator, shipowner, and boat captain could be held liable if proven true.
“The investigation will also ensure safe voyage of individuals at sea or whether there is simply complacency in the implementation.
At the same time, the senator cited the need to create a National Transport Safety Board which she has been pushing for years.
The proposed board will independently investigate land, air and sea accidents and incidents, determine probable causes, and issue safety recommendations and studies to prevent their recurrence.
The MB Aya Express incident is the second maritime disaster this year, following the death of 33 people in an eight-hour ferry fire in Basilan last March.
“Despite being an archipelago, the Philippines has a poor maritimesafety record with people dying in sea mishaps yearly, usually onboard aging, wooden motor boats used for fishing or to move peoplefrom one small island to another,” Poe added.