Deadly costs of further delays

Rather than leaving the Philippines as predicted Tuesday evening, Typhoon Helen decided to linger in the north as of Wednesday morning, With strong rains and winds, expect visuals of the damages of this newest typhoon. And sadly, while more typhoons are expected to hit the Philippines this year, there are still very urgent unresolved matters left over from the last Typhoon Frank.

The bodies of the typhoon victims, especially from the sunken Sulpicio ship have not yet all been accounted for. Their families are still awaiting the confirmation of the retrieved victims or any news about the sighting of their lost loved ones. The matter of due compensation is under way but total closure for the affected, which goes beyond cash, is still a long way to go.

The roles and responsibilities of government and business need to be threshed out with implementation, especially, more strictly enforced. Disaster management systems have to be more effectively conceptualized and actualized and spread out to as many areas, involving as many stakeholders at the soonest time possible.

 What to do with the sunken Princess of the Stars is also still a pending issue that needs to be resolved promptly and effectively.

Will earlier refloating be the most appropriate and effective resolution? If so, should refloating be promptly prioritized or can our people and our seas afford to wait more months for any final action to be done about the sunken ship? Will the costs of more delay not be more deadly for our people and our country?

 Definitely, an earlier refloating may be an ardent wish of the families of the victims of the sunken ship. They cannot move on until the bodies of their loved ones are sighted, recovered, and finally identified. Peace and eternal rest for those who did not survive the typhoon as well as peace of mind and closure are urgently needed by those left behind by the typhoon and ship victims.

An earlier refloating may also be the prayer of fisherfolk, not only in Sibuyan Romblon but elsewhere in the Philippines affected not only by a fishing prohibition where the sunken ship is located but also by a fish care that keeps consumers from buying fish in the aftermath of the sunken vessel mishap. Romblon and all other neighboring coastal community residents look forward to that day when the grim sunken ship is taken away before their eyes and their lives restored to normalcy.

Can these affected fisherfolk and communities sue government and business for each day of delay in the refloating or any definite action about the sunken ship as each day of delay translates into loss of their daily and future income?

Are our seas and marine resources not endangered by any further delay about whether to refloat the sunken ship or not? Can our seas and marine resources withstand the very clear and present danger of contamination of endosulfan, described as a “neurotoxic organochlorine insecticide of the cyclodiene family of pesticides, an endocrine disruptor, and highly acutely toxic?”

 Can our seas, marine resources, and surrounding islands afford an imminent oil spill from the sunken ship? Which reminds us, has the Guimaras oil spill been effectively resolved?

 Again, to our legal experts, environmentalists, and concerned citizens, cannot the Filipino people press government, business and industry to speed up resolving the case of the sunken Princess before the possible deadlier costs of their further delay affect more people, more communities, and what remains of our rich seas and resources?

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