Nagpapatawag ng masinsinang imbestigasyon ang mga mambabatas matapos mamatay ang 29 na pasahero ng nasunog na MV Lady Mary Joy 3 sa Basilan.
“Even before reparations are done on an incident, another tragedy strikes claiming lives and harming the environment. Clearly, the safety component in our transportation is sorely lacking,” pahayag ni Senador Grace Poe.
“We reiterate our call for an independent agency that will conduct thorough and truthful investigations, and provide corresponding recommendations,” aniya.
Sinabi naman ni Cavite 4th District Representative Elpidio Barzaga Jr. na dapat ipaliwanag ng Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) at Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) kung overloaded ang barko dahil ito ang kadalasang sanhi ng mga maritime na aksidente.
“What is MARINA and the Philippine Coast Guard doing now? Those who have been negligent should be held accountable for this accident because it could have been avoided if only they did their jobs,” aniya.
“What is the Coast Guard doing? If there were so many passengers, did they not check if the vessel was overloaded? Secondly, is there already an action to stop the shipping line from operating its other ferries on account of this incident?” tanong ni Barzaga.
Ayon kay Mayor Arsina Kahing-Nanoh ng Hadji Muhtamad sa Basilan, ang manifest ng ferry ay hindi akma kaya nahirapan ang awtoridad sa pagsasagawa ng search, rescue and retrieval operations.
Ayon kay Nanoh, 205 ang pasahero na naitala ng Coast Guard ngunit 195 na pasahero na ang nailigtas, na hindi kasama ang mga namatay.Â
Binanggit rin ni Barzaga ang insidente ng lumubog na motor tanker (MT) Princess Empress noong Pebrero 28 kung saan tumagas ang 800,000 litro ng industrialized fuel sa dagat ng Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
“We haven’t even recovered yet from the oil spill incident and now, this happened. Here we go again,” aniya.
“This incident, as well as the sinking of tanker MT Princess Empress should serve as a wake-up call to the concerned authorities in coming up with needed mechanisms to prevent the recurrence of sea incidents,” ayon naman kay Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Kasalukuyang sinusuri ng awtoridad ang mga ulat ng insidente kung saan nagsimula ang sunog sa isang air conditioning unit.
Photo credit: Facebook/coastguardph