The shipping firm that owns MV Trisha Kerstin 3, which sank off Basilan, remains suspended and was fined P3 million, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) said on Wednesday.
Marina Administrator Sonia Malaluan provided the update during the House committee on transportation’s inquiry into the capsizing of the passenger vessel off Baluk-Baluk Island in Hadji Muhtamad town, Basilan, in January.
To date, the tragedy has left 66 people dead and 13 missing, while 293 survived, according to the Philippine Coast Guard’s report to the panel.
‘Aleson Shipping Lines has been penalized and, as of now, remains suspended … and a penalty or fine of P3 million has already been paid,’ Malaluan told lawmakers.
Such penalties were imposed during hearings before Marina, a quasi-judicial body.
Malaluan said the suspension was supposed to lapse on June 7, but she noted that some of Aleson’s ships remain non-compliant with Marina’s ‘corrective’ measures.
Aleson filed for reconsideration of its suspension on June 18, which Malaluan said Marina denied.
The shipping firm also filed an appeal of its suspension on July 3, which she said was still ‘under consideration’ by Marina.
Meanwhile, Marina personnel who were under preventive suspension were found ‘not guilty’ by the body, Malaluan said.
‘They’re not found guilty of the charges; 66 have died, and 13 are missing, not guilty?’ Quezon City Rep. Franz Pumaren interjected during Malaluan’s presentation. ‘Okay, continue.’
Also during the hearing, Akbayan Partylist Rep. Dadah Kiram Ismula proposed several legislative measures to address the gaps that were noted in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Ismula manifested that the party-list will formally file these legislative measures: The Infant and Children Lifejacket Safety Bill, Digital Manifest System Bill, and the Verified Cargo, Weight and Stability Bill.
The lawmaker said that the tragic capsizing of M/V Trisha Kerstin 3 must serve as a turning point for policy reforms in maritime transport.
‘Through these measures, we affirm our collective resolve to protect lives at sea and to advance a safer, more accountable maritime transport system for all Filipinos,’ she also noted.
In January, Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said overloading and the lack of a pre-departure safety audit were among the possible reasons for the sinking of the ferry.
According to Lopez, the combined weight of the passengers and cargo may have exceeded the vessel’s capacity, possibly causing a ‘cargo shift’ among the rolling cargo.
Authorities had also learned that the rolling cargo, including trucks and motorcycles, did not pass through the port’s weighing bridge, and of the 372 passengers, 112 are not listed in the passenger manifest