Ramos vows to improve sea safety
Ramos vows to improve sea safety
MANILA (AFP): Philippine President Fidel Ramos on Saturday
pledged to improve the country's dismal maritime safety record
which includes the world's worst peace-time sea disaster.
Ramos said it was ironic that the Philippines, an archipelago
strategically located in Southeast Asia, "has yet to develop a
viable shipping industry.
"Worse, conflicting maritime laws, bureaucratic overlap and
organizational inefficiency have greatly impaired maritime safety
in the country," he said at a maritime congress here.
Ramos was apparently referring to the overlapping functions of
maritime agencies such as the Philippine Coast Guard, the
Philippine Navy and the Maritime Industry Authority which had led
to passing blame in previous sea disasters.
The president said he has formed a "multilateral task force on
maritime development" to "fast-track" the implementation of
measures to modernize the industry and improve safety of sea
travel.
"We must now institute and implement reforms that will clearly
delineate the functions and responsibilities of our several
maritime agencies and bureaus under one maritime administration,"
he said.
He said he has urged congress to hasten the passage of a bill
detaching the Philippine Coast Guard from the Philippine Navy and
placing the force under the Department of Transportation and
Communications.
The secretaries of transportation and national defense on
Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding which will allow
the transportation department to deputize the coast guard in
certain instances even before the approval of the bill.
An agreement has also been forged transferring the power to
implement maritime safety regulations from the maritime industry
authority to the coast guard.
"We cannot relax in our vigilance to keep our people and
vessels safe and our seas clean, secure and navigable," the
president said.
More than 4,000 people were killed when an overcrowded inter-
island ship, the Dona Paz, collided with an oil tanker in the
central Philippines on December 20, 1987 in the world's worst
peace-time shipping disaster.
Only about 1,500 passengers had been officially listed on the
ship's manifest -- reflecting a rampant but illegal practice of
accepting passengers well beyond a vessel's capacity to carry.
The practice resumed shortly after a massive public outcry
following the Dona Paz incident and several sea tragedies after
that. No one has yet been prosecuted for the Dona Paz tragedy.
Maritime agencies are also supposed to conduct an actual count
of passengers before a vessel leaves port, but this rule has
often been violated.
In August, seven Hong Kong tourists drowned when a ferry they
were riding in capsized on Manila Bay during a sunset sightseeing
cruise. The vessel had no permit to operate, officials said.