Sulpicio petition vs BMI junked

MANILA, Philippines – The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) yesterday junked for lack of merit the appeal of Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the investigation of the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) on the capsizing of the M/V Princess of the Stars last June 21 in Romblon.

In a three-page order, Presiding Judge Antonio Eugenio Jr. of the Manila RTC Branch 24 said that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) entered into by the Maritime Industry Authority and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) had “clearly abdicated the (Marina’s) jurisdiction alleged by the plaintiff (SLI) to be exclusively vested in it.”

SLI’s petition for a TRO is anchored on two premises. One is that under Republic Act 9295 – which aims to promote the development of Philippine domestic shipping, shipbuilding, ship repair and ship breaking, and ordains reforms in the shipping industry – the investigating power over ship owners and ship operators over all matters pertaining to their business operations including maritime incidents and casualties was expressly transferred to the Marina.

The second premise is that the proceedings being conducted by the BMI are turning out to be a farce as certain members of the board have shown bias and prejudgment.

Respondents invoked the MOA entered into by Marina and the PCG on Sept. 14, 2005 which stated that “both parties recognize that the jurisdiction of the Board of Marine Inquiry is to conduct administrative hearings to determine the causes of marine casualties or incidents upon receipt of a marine protest and to review on appeal the results and findings of the Special Board of Marine Inquiry.”

Both parties also recognize that the jurisdiction of the Special Board of Marine Inquiry is to conduct administrative hearings to determine the causes of marine casualties in their geographical areas of jurisdiction.

SLI contends that respondent BMI’s “illegal proceedings are causing it great and irreparable injury as respondent board is no longer clothed with the authority to investigate maritime disasters considering the repeal of then Philippine Merchant Maritime Rules and Regulations (PMMRR).”

The plaintiff SLI cited Section 26, the repealing clause of Republic Act 9295, which had reportedly transferred the authority of the PCG, through the BMI, to investigate maritime accidents.

However, the judge said that a perusal of Section 10 of RA 9295, relative to the jurisdiction, power and duty of Marina, reveals no inconsistency with BMI’s prerogative to investigate maritime incidents, “which authority is further buttressed by the MOA entered into by Marina and the PCG where Marina clearly abdicated the jurisdiction alleged by the plaintiff to be exclusively vested in it.”

The judge further said that in the matter of the alleged bias and pre-judgments on the part of some of the respondents, injunction need not be resorted to and plaintiff can very well seek the inhibition of those who appear to have shed off the cold neutrality of an arbiter.

On the other hand, the judge reprimanded the BMI and Marina for duplication of functions.

“To this court, these two agencies under the same department cannot duplicate each other in the same task of maritime investigation of sea disasters considering the danger of arriving at conflicting findings which can only embarrass the department,” said Eugenio, adding that “the two agencies must therefore get their acts together.”

BMI chairman Rear Admiral Ramon Liwanag said the decision of the court to junk the TRO boosted their confidence that they are authorized to probe the Princess of the Stars tragedy and emboldened them to continue with the proceedings.

Legal right

A lawyer representing Sulpicio Lines yesterday said that the company has the right to declare the abandonment of the 23,000-ton Princess of the Stars.

SLI legal counsel Ma. Victoria Lim-Florido told reporters that the shipping firm has already complied with the law and issued a valid notice of abandonment.

Under the law, she added, sending a formal notice is enough.

It is also no longer material if the insurer decides to accept the notice or not “because the rights and the interests of the insured are transferred already to the insurer from the moment that the notice of abandonment has become valid.”

SLI first senior vice president Edgar Go reportedly informed legislators during last Monday’s congressional hearing that the ship was insured for P350 million.

It was earlier reported that their insurance company was Oriental Insurance.

But Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez had said that SLI could not just transfer its responsibility for the tragedy to the insurer.

Gonzalez said SLI has “no moral or legal right” to exercise the right to abandonment as it is its responsibility to salvage the vessel.

Gonzalez also stressed that the capsized vessel is now an environmental nuisance, which under the Civil Code specifically obliges the owner of the vessel to remove it.

The shipping firm, according to Gonzalez, can be sued if it will push through with its plan to abandon the Princess of the Stars.

As to the possible refloating of the vessel, Florido said “the prospects are very bright. We would decide very soon.”

Among the details that are still being ironed out is who would shoulder the expenses to refloat the vessel.

She also clarified that their interest is not an indication that they are admitting liability, but they are only expressing their “sense of social responsibility.”

‘Markings were present’

During yesterday’s BMI hearing, Del Monte Philippines Inc. (DMPI) general manager and chief operating officer Luis Alejandro presented to the members of the board pictures of markings that can be found on the container van with endosulfan, which was loaded in the sunken ferry.

The markings reportedly showed that cargo endosulfan was a pesticide, that it was toxic and a marine pollutant.

The DMPI official said there were three different kinds of markings that showed that the contents of the cargo was toxic in nature and was a potential marine pollutant. There was a picture of a skull-and-crossed bones with a number “6” which is recognized by the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) as signs that it was toxic in nature.

There was also an “X” superimposed on a fish and the words “Marine Pollutant” below it.

The numbers “2761” is the third sign, which is the number assigned by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods to refer to materials that are “organochlorine pesticide, solid and toxic.”

But SLI lawyer Florido appeared unperturbed by the documents presented by DMPI.

“I think that has been clarified by Mr. Alejandro that the pictures were not the actual containers that were loaded on board. They were just the usual markings made by their supplier,” she claimed.

Susan Lisbo, 43 and a resident of Quezon City, was the first Princess of the Stars passenger and survivor who gave her testimony before the board yesterday morning.

Lisbo recalled that by 10:30 a.m. of June 21, the ship started rolling and when it tilted to one side, it no longer returned to its original position.

At that time, she also heard an announcement over the public address system saying, “All watchmen please go to the bridge.”

When they left the cabin at 12 noon, they saw several people already in the hallway and there was a commotion. They donned life vests and proceeded to the right side of the ship since it was already tilting heavily on the port or left side.

They then waited for instructions to abandon ship.

When asked by the board if she heard an alarm, she could not give a definite answer. She also said that there was no instructional video on board to inform the passengers on where they should go during an abandon ship situation.

There were only instructions on how to wear the life vest.

Lisbo was one of 28 people who were rescued in Mulanay, Quezon.

Identified cadavers

One hundred eighty six out of the 206 recovered bodies of victims of typhoon “Frank” and the Princess of the Stars have been processed for DNA testing, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday.

Allan Contado, NBI spokesman, said all the 206 bodies have been brought to a base in Cebu where the NBI forensics team are conducting DNA testing.

Some of the DNA sampling for living relatives are also being conducted at NBI headquarters in Manila.

As of yesterday, Contado said eight bodies out of the 186 processed cadavers have been identified.

The DNA testing is being conducted for free by a foreign organization, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) based in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Biologist and toxicologist

The European Union is deploying a marine biologist and a toxicologist to Romblon to help detect and, if possible, deter possible water contamination around the ill-fated Princess of the Stars.

Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Undersecretary for Maritime Affairs Elena Bautista said the biologist and toxicologist who would be coming from France and Sweden were scheduled to arrive yesterday.

Meantime, Capt. Benjamin Mata, former vice chairman of the BMI, yesterday said that illegal steel appendages welded to the sides of inter-island passenger  ships in the country are virtual death traps, a dangerous obstruction in the event of abandon ship situation similar to the recent sea tragedy. - With Evelyn Macairan, Jaime Laude, Mike Frialde, Perseus Echeminada, AP