Five PCG men suspended

The entire Philippine Coast Guard detachment in Naval, Biliran was suspended yesterday for the sinking of an inter-island ferry off Biliran island that resulted in the death of 19 people, PCG commandant Vice Admiral Reuben Lista reported yesterday.

Lista said charges of dereliction of duty and negligence would also be filed against the five-man detachment, led by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jose Alamo, who cleared the inter-island ferry M/B Nilode for sailing although it was evidently overloaded.

Transportation and Communications Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez, who has jurisdiction over the PCG, has ordered a full-blown investigation into the maritime incident, the second in the country since April 11 when the ferry M/V Maria Carmela caught fire off Lucena City, leaving at least 72 people dead and missing.

The 13-gross-ton wooden-hulled M/B Nilode, with a still uncertain number of passengers on board, capsized two kilometers off the municipal port of Naval at around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday as it was heading for Maripipi island.

Authorities have rescued 73 people, five of whom are still confined at the Biliran provincial hospital as of yesterday, but they are still at a loss on how many people were actually on board the ferry that was licensed to carry only 30 passengers. Also, only 15 names were on the passenger manifest.

During the provincial disaster coordinating council meeting in Naval yesterday morning, Alamo claimed he tried to stop the vessel from sailing but was "pressured" by a local government official to allow the Maripipi residents to board the boat, Lista said.

Although Lista refused to identify the local government official, sources in Naval identified him as Maripipi Mayor Uldarico Macorol who apparently "asked but not forced" the ferry operator, Alfredo Malana, to "accommodate" his constituents.

M/B Nilode’s passengers were mostly barangay officials, teachers and children who had just come from a street-dancing competition during celebrations marking Biliran’s 10th anniversary as a province.

But Lista said "that was not enough reason" for Alamo to allow the vessel to leave the port.

"That is not enough reason. He should have put his foot down and told them ‘No, you are not leaving.’ He should have exerted all effort. he could have gone on board and stopped the engine. There was a lot he could (have done)," Lista said.

Lista said a team of investigators from Cebu City has already arrived in Naval to look further into the matter.

But Biliran Rep. Gerardo Espina said the PCG can still do more about the incident and demanded that Biliran Coast Guard commander Romulo Mesias also be sacked for the sinking.

"The motorboat was overloaded," Espina said in an interview with local radio station dyVL. "Imagine, it’s load capacity was limited to only 30 passengers."

Espina identified the fatalities as Inocenta Adaptante, 25; Erlinda Adaptante; Marites Aguilos, 25; Michael Aguilos, 3; Michaela Aguilos, 4; Salud Arongado; Segundina Culibra; Josefina Gaviola; Feneilia Leorad; Prodenciado de Loyola; Carmelita Maracillo, 66; Olelia Martinez; Juanita Ngondon; Fermenia Raagas; Nicomedesa Radam; Remedios Radam; Julita Rebato; Virgilia Severino, 74; and, Josephine Malana, wife of the ferry operator Alfredo Malana.

Relatives of the victims were still in a state of shock, including local radio reporter Mindro Aguilos of Nation Broadcasting Corp.’s Radyo Natin who lost his wife Marites and two young children, aged three and four, on the eve of the couple’s wedding anniversary

The PCG called off early yesterday afternoon the search for other survivors, saying no one else had been found since Saturday night and there was no hope of finding any more survivors.

But the Coast Guard admitted it had no idea how many people were actually on board the ill-fated vessel.

According to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), there were 137 passengers on board while Espina claimed there were 104. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said there were only 97 while the police claimed there were 94.

Espina’s son, Biliran Gov. Rogelio Espina, told Reuters by phone from Naval that the incident happened in fairly calm seas.

He said survivors told officials the boat capsized when many passengers, bothered by the scorching sun, moved over to one side of the vessel to cool themselves in the shade.

"The boat tilted and took in water," Espina said, adding that panic spread among the passengers as the boat began to keel and some threw themselves into the sea.

Lista explained that even if Coast Guard men were fully aware that a vessel is overloaded, they do not have the legal power to force excess passengers to disembark from a vessel.

"The law has no teeth. We cannot forcibly bring down excess passengers. If they want to leave, we cannot stop them," Lista said.

He said the PCG is "not running away from its responsibility" but he emphasized that the PCG has already been stripped of its regulatory powers and lacks the men and materiél to properly implement their mandate.

Lista warned that unless such problems in the maritime industry are resolved, tragic sea accidents would likely recur.

"I am telling you, this will happen again. This will happen again," he said. - With reports from Christina Mendez