By CARMELA FONBUENA
abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak
On its fourth hearing yesterday, what House transportation committee chair Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella planned as a wrap up questioning of the people accused to be responsible for the June sinking of MV Princess of the Stars turned into a heated grilling by several congressmen who threatened to cite some resource persons in contempt.
“Our guests are trying to avoid responsibility. I’ve been pissed off with this investigation. These people are not answering truthfully. I think we should hold this people in contempt. It’s an insult to this body,” Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante said in an outburst during the six-hour hearing and then walked out of the room. He quickly returned, looking composed.
The same suggestion was made by Tarlac Rep. Jose Yap during the hearing.
“We are going deeper,” Puentevella told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak after the hearing past 7 p.m. last night when asked to assess how the hearings have been going so far.
“We need one more hearing. You know why? We still have the BMI (Board of Marine Inquiry) report. We have to discuss the findings,” he added.
The past three hearings, held during the recess, averaged seven hours each.
BMI is scheduled to submit its findings on Friday, August 1 to the Task Force Princess of the Stars headed by Department of Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) Undersecretary Len Bautista.
The House hearings on the sunken MV Princess of the Stars were diligently attended by Sulpicio Lines’ first vice-president Edgar Go together with his lawyers and the hired salvor, and officials of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), DOTC’s Bautista, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Marina, and the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) among other stakeholders.
Going in circles: Who is to blame?
The four hearings revolved around blaming Pagasa for its failure to issue timely bulletins, the Philippine Coast Guard for its failure to stop the voyage of the MV Princess of the Stars and its inability to immediately respond to the tragedy, the Sulpicio Lines for failing to order the ship to take shelter in spite of the typhoon signal number 3, and other government agencies for alleged remiss in their duties.
Yesterday, what started as a repetition of old questions and answers turned heated when congressmen expressed their frustrations over the responses of the resource speakers.
Sulpicio Lines’ Go irked several congressmen when he made claims such as he could not remember where and from whom they bought the ship, and that he was not notified when the MV Princess of the Stars had problems at sea before the sinking.
They were also frustrated by the BMI’s unwillingness to share their findings, the inconsistency of the answers of the Philippine Port Authority and the Bureau of Customs as to whether or not the toxic endosulfan cargo was properly declared, and the lack of clear plans as to how the bodies will be recovered or if the ferry will even be refloated.
“We find Sulpicio Lines accusing God. I would also guess that the Philippine Coast Guard is accusing Congress because they said they have no authority because we have no law. I don’t know who Pagasa will blame. They say they are not remiss with their duties,” Abante jeered.
“As if nobody is to blame. Or is it everybody to blame,” Yap added.
Aside from drafting laws to strengthen the maritime industry, several congressmen in the committee insisted on recommending charges to be filed against those the committee will find responsible for the sea tragedy.
“We want to know who is to blame?” said Yap.
“We want to approve a law before Christmas to strengthen the maritime industry,” said Puentevella.
Some members of the committee opted to skip the session at 4 p.m. to continue and finish. The grilling lasted up to 7:30 p.m. The committee adjourned even later than the session.
Victims’ kin seek congressmen’s help
Cebu Rep. Jose Cuenco also presented his constituents Ruel Anthony Javier, 34, and Honey Lyn Garces, 20, who appealed before the committee to help them seek justice for their missing relatives.
“It’s been a while since the tragedy, I’m wondering why no one has been taken responsible for it,” Garces told the congressmen.
“My heart is crying for justice,” said Javier, who broke down in tears while he read his statement before the committee.
Garces lost both her parents in the sea tragedy while Javier lost his wife and his youngest son. Both received P400,000 each as compensation package. They protested the quitclaim that they were made to sign. It supposedly prevents them from pursuing legal action against the shipping company. (Relatives were offered P200,000 of compensation for the victims of the sea tragedy.)
“It was painful to sign the quit claim,” Garces told the committee. She said she had to take it so that she and her siblings can pursue their schooling.
Cuenco moved that the committee seek the help of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to assist the victims’ kin. It was immediately seconded by several members of the committee. Other members suggested they also seek the help of the Public Assistance Office (PAO).
Fast track recovery of bodies
The congressmen also called for the immediate recovery of the bodies. It’s been a month since the sea tragedy and there are no clear plans on how the bodies will be recovered or if the ship will even be refloated.
Out of the ferry’s 851 passengers and crew, about 500 remain missing and are believed to be trapped inside the capsized ferry.
Sulpicio Lines has hired international salvor company Titan to retrieve the toxic endosulfan cargo and the fuel. Titan was also instructed to recover the human bodies that they may come across during the retrieval of the substances. It is not a priority, however.
“That is not enough. It should be a deliberate search effort to look for these bodies and recover them. It should be your liability, period,” Rep. Raul Del Mar told Go.
“The way it looks it’s taking so much time, Mr. Go. It will take a month before you recover the toxic cargo. We would like you to keep this more priority effort,” he added.
DOTC's Bautista said they did not allow Sulpicio Lines to recover the bodies before the toxic cargo. “We did not allow Sulpicio to remove bodies simultaneously with the dead bodies. The decision together with UN (United Nations) experts is to remove the toxic materials first. We want to make sure that divers will not be exposed to any danger when they are under water.”
A representative from Titan said it will take 21 days to retrieve these toxic substances. When asked if they can shorten the duration, a representative from Titan said it may not be possible. Some equipment will be coming from Singapore .
Bautista vouched for the “integrity” of Titan. “Titan has done two or three salvage ops in RP with Harbor Star as their partner. We also did our own staff work to check integrity of partners. We have also sought expert opinion from the internal maritime organization, the Dutch expert sat with Titan and Harbor star. Based on their recommendations, they have the capability to do the star.”
Refloating the vessel
Romblon Rep. Eleandro Madrona appealed for the re-floating of the vessel and the recovery of the bodies.
“I know our investigation is centered on the passengers. But please understand, my people have suffered and are still suffering…. Nobody wants to go fishing because nobody wants to eat fish with the endosulfan, dead bodies in our shores,” he said.
“As long as the MV Princess of the Stars is there nobody will eat fish. Our people cannot buy their basics, he added. While the government is trying to help the people, it is “insufficient,” he said.