What do you tell a board of Inquiry when your company has suffered not one but four ferry disasters over the last twenty years?
You tell them it’s God’s fault. From the Inquirer:
 “I am taking the initiative of filing this marine protest to report the unfortunate tragedy that befell MV Princess of the Stars and to publicly and solemnly protest against the wind and waves and the fortuitous event or act of God, particularly Typhoon ‘Frank,’ that was the cause of the frustration of the voyage and the loss of our good ship,†Eugenio’s report said.
The frustration and rage here in the Philippines against the company is high. Yes, people here have a “behala na” approach to disasters, but even the uneducated know you don’t sail a ship into the middle of a typhoon.
The shipowner is standing on the “the regulations didn’t say we couldn’t leave Manila”…and the shipowner insists he the captain, who left port when Manila was under a Signal one, wasn’t required to check the destination weather, which was signal three at the time…except legally, the law has been changed: although regulations don’t forbid a ship leaving, the regulations do insist that the captain has to use common sense and check the weather…whoops, whines the ship owner, why didn’t you tell us that…it’s your fault for not letting us know about the regulations….duh.
In his defense, the typhoon did change course…but the destination city was under a Signal three when the ferry left, so there are still a lot of questions to answer…and then there are questions why the engine of a fairly new Japanese built ship should fail in the storm? (The cause of the disaster was engine failure, which allowed winds and waves to ground it against a reef, causing a hole in the side, flooding, and a fast sinking/overturning).
In the meanwhile, there has been a huge local response to help, with government, military, and churches rushing in aid. Right now the need is for easily cooked food; later will come the need to rebuild homes, schools, churches, and agriculture, both fields and poultry houses that were devastated.
There is also a need for body bags/formalin, so that the bodies can be buried at home. There are so many bodies that locals are photographing and burying them immediately…some of the bodies are from the ferry, but others are from the 40 fishing vessels that are missing…
Filipinos are famous for their helping their family and neighbors in time of disaster. So the majority of the displaced have been housed with family members, and others are sheltered in local schools and public buildings. But there is a huge reconstruction job to be done…one mayor complains that she has had to use her own savings because of the delay in money from the government, but I suspect many businessmen, barangay leaders, and others will chip in until outside help comes.
In the meanwhile, the USS Reagan and it’s ships are headed there with all those supplies and help that had been sent to Burma but refused. One clueless PInoy politician whines why we need an aircraft carrier with jets, apparantly not being aware that the cranes, supplies, helicopters and of course experienced help will be on the ships too. The US will work in cooperation and under the Philippine authorities in the area. Indeed, every year there are joint “military” exercizes between the Philippine Armed Forces and various US military groups, and last year’s exercize was about coordinating in times of disaster.
In the meanwhile, despite the fact that President Arroyo is under constant attack from the opposition for corruption, only a few have put their foot in their mouth to criticize that she continued her trip to the US despite the typhoon.
The best answer to his cluelessness and criticism of Mrs Arroyo not rushing back for a photo op is this quote from a Presidential spokesman:“What would we have preferred? A presidential shoulder to cry on, or a thousand helping hands from a US carrier group who can help victims?†Alvarez said.
“I think the people on the ground, much [as] they want to group-hug with the President, would prefer the GI Joes,†he said.
In the meanwhile, the local tourist agency reminds people that the lovely beaches of Boracay are still open for business, and more tourists will help the economy of the entire region.
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Nancy Reyes is a retired physician living in the rural Philippines. Her website is Finest Kind Clinic and Fishmarket.Â
2 users commented in " Ferry owner blames God for disaster "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackAmazing – Nancy, this was a great article. If I could afford a trip to the Philippines, I would book it right away in an effort to boost the economy [and hopefully also get a tan].
Is there no advocate for the families, regardless of citizenship, waiting in agony to find the fate of their loved ones? It seems as if Sulpicio Lines is just stalling and stalling with one thing after the other. This is undeniably a gross imposition on the rights of the deceased and their families to allow that ship to just sit and stagnate in the water when it is full of human remains. Our citizens, any citizens, are worth so much more than that and the family from the U.S., like many others, has been through an agonizing and frustrating ordeal with no end in sight. This is a hideous and disgusting way to treat human beings and in essence, their bodies are being held captive. This situation desperately needs to be brought to the attention of any international law/humanitarian rights advocate and news entity who is willing to listen, and I am working hard to raise awareness as such. If that were a Carnival (i.e.) ship off of Bermuda or the U.S.S. Badger full of bodies in Lake Michigan, do you think there would be so much delay? Never!!! Regardless of the country of registry or parent company. This is an enormous travesty of justice to the victims and their families. Let alone the fact that there are citizens of other countries missing in the mess. I do not understand why nobody is overriding the shipping company on this and taking over operations to make retrieving the remains in an ecologically safe manor THE immediate and top priority and play the blame game later. All the rights here seem to belong to Sulpicio, and they are not doing ANYTHING to remedy the situation at hand. Apparently nobody can touch the ship but the owner. Meanwhile, the divers have been called off and they now want to re-float, which would take 3 months, or tow the ship, which would take about a month, to unload the cargo and the bodies. These decisions are all conveniently being left up to Sulpicio, who is doing NOTHING. Why they have ANY rights at this point is not clear, as the investigations have already found that two of the ballasts were empty. It is also speculated that the cargo was not properly secured and may have contributed to the capsizing of the ship. Seems to me the right thing to do to begin retrieving the bodies would be for someone to step in and take over and bring in a ship builder-maybe the company that constructed this ship-to salvage the vessel by dismantling the exposed hull. Apparently they know where the cargo is located in the ship and as of yet it is not leaking, so they CAN get around it. With all the technology and engineering capabilities out there today, there is no excuse for this to be prolonged. Meanwhile, the ship remains upside down, submerged, physically in tact, and potentially full of hundreds of human remains, and any moron would know they are not going to magically become any more easily identifiable. I think what I find most shocking and appalling is that this situation gets worse and worse and the media attention in the rest of the world, just is not there. The rest of the world doesn’t seem to know or care that there is a boat full of bodies just sitting in the water. The only reason I am up to speed on the horrid details is that some of those lost are the family of someone that I care about very much. So I scan the local news outlets there all day long hoping to find some closure for them, along with the other hundreds of families, hoping to find news of a resolution. However, instead of hope, I see gross negligence. The disgusting, horrendous, deplorable corporate and socially unacceptable conduct of a shipping company that basically sent 800 people to a watery grave and really doesn’t seem to notice. For now, all I can do is try to raise awareness in hopes that someone will step up to the plate and end this atrocity. Let these grieving families identify there loved ones so they can mourn them and find closure. The media is the best outlet to raise awareness. Each day the bodies are left on the boat is a day too late. I would give my vote to Sulpicio as “Worst Corporate Citizen Ever.”
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