P50 and bananas

Those following the Senate inquiry into the boat accident in Laguna de Bay that left 27 people dead will come to a common conclusion: there will be many more such deadly mishaps.

The problems that bedevil many aspects of life in our country are the same banes that allowed that accident to happen: weak regulation and enforcement of laws.

We spend so much on national and local legislatures that churn out a voluminous amount of laws and ordinances that are rarely enforced. A large chunk of the national budget goes to local governments all the way down to the grassroots, to the barangays. Yet the nation suffers from chronically weak governance and substandard services.

That accident on July 27 involving the motorized outrigger Aya Express was the result of failure of governance.

As the Philippine Coast Guard itself has admitted, there were lapses on the part of PCG personnel that allowed the boat to leave the Binangonan port in Rizal for Talim Island despite the lingering bad weather due to the passage of Typhoon Egay.

Facing a Senate probe last Tuesday, boat captain Donald Anain – one of 43 survivors in the accident – said he merely handed P50 cash and P100 worth of bananas to the PCG on duty at the time, and the Aya Express was allowed to sail. At yesterday’s prices in the wet market, that’s about a kilo of lakatan bananas.

The giving of “pampangiti” or “padulas” – something to elicit a smile or grease palms – to PCG officers on duty at the port is common, according to Anain, who also admitted that he has no boat captain’s license. He said other gifts include cigarettes and liquor.

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For those used to thieves in government who steal billions from the people (and get away with it), P50 in cash and P100 worth of bananas can seem pathetically penny-ante. But perhaps the small amounts involved make the recipients believe the gifts do not constitute bribery.

Republic Act 6713, the 1989 Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, expressly prohibits government workers from soliciting or accepting “directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office.”

Hmm… RA 6713 also states: “Public officials and employees and their families shall lead modest lives appropriate to their positions and income. They shall not indulge in extravagant or ostentatious display of wealth in any form” and must “maintain the principle of public accountability.”

If top officials can’t comply with the law, what can be expected of those in the lower rungs of government? They have so many examples of public officials accepting (and soliciting) gifts worth a million times more than a kilo of bananas.

Also, there are many other boats in the Binangonan port. If each boat captain gives a kilo of bananas, the duty officer can accumulate a large basket or tiklis by the end of the day, with perhaps over P1,000 in cash.

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There are too many boats operating at the port, Anain told the Senate, so each boat can embark on trips across the lake only about three times a week. Each trip must then be maximized – a euphemism for overloading.

Anain admitted that the Aya Express, with a seating capacity for only 35, had 70 people on board, apart from a cargo of soft drink in cans, sacks of rice, bottles and even motorcycles.

Little wonder that when the passengers were frightened by a squall and moved to one side of the boat, it listed and the wooden outrigger failed to serve its purpose of providing balance. The outrigger snapped under the pressure and the wood-hulled boat capsized, spilling tarpaulins and ropes into the water. Survivors said many of those who died got entangled in that mess, unable to swim to the surface. No one wore life vests, as required on passenger boats.

After the banana story came out, the PCG said an association of private boat owners, the Talim Island Motorboat and Patrons Association had in fact taken control of port operations, including clearing boats for sailing. The PCG said it had previously filed charges of syndicated estafa against TIPMOPA members.

So how did the government allow this to happen? Did local government and barangay officials themselves usurp PCG authority at the port?

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If the boat captain’s story is true, you do feel sorry for the coast guards who feel they need to accept such pampangiti to augment their income and bring a smile to their face at the end of a working day.

The PCG surely lacks personnel to inspect every commercial vessel plying the more than 7,600 islands in our country, which has one of the world’s most extensive coastlines.

These days the PCG must also dedicate much of its manpower and resources to patrolling the country’s western seaboard against greedy foreign devils who refuse to abide by international maritime rules. In this task, the PCG deserves all the support it can get.

Our civilian coast guard is pitted against the China Coast Guard, which is under its Central Military Commission chaired by President Xi Jinping. The CCG is authorized to engage not just in maritime law enforcement but also in combat. The PCG, being a civilian agency like the coast guards of other countries, is not even authorized to equip its vessels with heavy weapons.

Policy makers may have to unburden the PCG of the task of clearing commercial vessels (or at least the smaller boats) for sailing throughout our archipelago. The PCG said the local government of Binangonan and the Maritime Industry Authority should take control of port operations and boat safety protocols in that area.

The PCG undoubtedly will appreciate no longer getting the blame for boat accidents, which under the prevailing circumstances are guaranteed to continue.