By Christian Edu Villegas(Vol. XXVI No. 4, Editorial Cartoon)
The sunken ship that was carrying 860 people on board, counting both passengers and crews, has only less than 50 reported survivors – a sad news that the Filipino nation wished was just a bad dream.
As of press time, there is an on-going operation to hopefully recover the bodies of the people (which are probably decaying now). While the families of the victims, including Jayson’s, hold a little hope that somehow, if they could no longer see their love ones, at least their bodies can be recovered.
While our hearts bleed of the tragedy and while we wish it were not true, we cannot help but ask why such catastrophe happened. Blame it to Mother Nature? No. Blame it to Sulpicio Lines? Yes.
There are two strong reasons why Sulpicio Lines should be held liable and accountable for the death of the passengers. First, it risked to sail even at the height of the typhoon “Frank”. Manila was even under public storm signal number one when the vessel left the port.
Second, we wonder why Sulpicio Lines is still in business and why MV Princess of the Stars is out at sea when in the past two decades, four of the company’s ships were figured in major sea incidents resulting in the loss of the lives of thousands of people. A painful lesson should have been learned from the history, but it seems like a wrong lesson was taught. Sulpicio Lines continued sailing – bringing numerous people to death.
To recount the sea tragedies involving Sulpicio-labeled ferries, on December 20, 1987, MV Doña Paz sank after a collision with oil tanker MT Vector. The tragedy killed more than 4,000 people, making it the worst peacetime maritime disaster in history. Less than a year after the vessel sank, on October 22, 1988, a shocking tragedy was repeated when the untamed Mother Nature swallowed MV Doña Marilyn. The vessel left Manila for Tacloban in the middle of the storm, sailing at least 250 lives to their ends. Ten years later, on September 18, 1998, the line’s biggest ship, MV Princess of the Orient, left Manila for Cebu – again in the middle of the storm. It sank near Manila Bay and 150 lives were taken by the tragedy. Lastly, MV Princess of the Stars took its turn.
Looking back at those four tragedies, it seems like there is a common denominator – each was avoidable. In the cases of MV Doña Marilyn, MV Princess of the Orient, and MV Princess of the Stars, Sulpicio Lines had the choice to either push through the shipping schedule or wait until the typhoon passes by. But the shipping line took the risk to sail despite the likelihood of very rough seas and despite the decisions of other shipping companies to wait for the weather to calm down. In the same manner, the shipping line opted to go off in the vastness of the sea amid the bad weather and despite its tragic sinking history.
In Jayson’s case, we may say that it is the nature of his chosen field, but the fact remains that the shipping company should have prioritized the lives of the many, including Jayson’s, over their business.
It is such a sad thought that a dream of a hopeful student was suddenly capsized into nothingness just because of business interest.
The slogan of Sulpicio Lines that goes, “Bridging the Islands”, should make a stand as it is, not bridge the tragedies. Certainly, justice should be served for Jayson and hundreds of other victims.
Weeks ago, the whole university was saddened when news broke out that Jayson Alegria, a graduating BS Marine Transportation student who spent his apprenticeship aboard the MV Princess of the Stars, was among the hundreds of passengers and crew whose bodies have been missing after the ship sank in the vastness of the seas near Romblon Island.
ReplyDeleteThe sunken ship that was carrying 860 people on board, counting both passengers and crews, has only less than 50 reported survivors – a sad news that the Filipino nation wished was just a bad dream.
As of press time, there is an on-going operation to hopefully recover the bodies of the people (which are probably decaying now). While the families of the victims, including Jayson’s, hold a little hope that somehow, if they could no longer see their love ones, at least their bodies can be recovered.
While our hearts bleed of the tragedy and while we wish it were not true, we cannot help but ask why such catastrophe happened. Blame it to Mother Nature? No. Blame it to Sulpicio Lines? Yes.
There are two strong reasons why Sulpicio Lines should be held liable and accountable for the death of the passengers. First, it risked to sail even at the height of the typhoon “Frank”. Manila was even under public storm signal number one when the vessel left the port.
Second, we wonder why Sulpicio Lines is still in business and why MV Princess of the Stars is out at sea when in the past two decades, four of the company’s ships were figured in major sea incidents resulting in the loss of the lives of thousands of people. A painful lesson should have been learned from the history, but it seems like a wrong lesson was taught. Sulpicio Lines continued sailing – bringing numerous people to death.
To recount the sea tragedies involving Sulpicio-labeled ferries, on December 20, 1987, MV Doña Paz sank after a collision with oil tanker MT Vector. The tragedy killed more than 4,000 people, making it the worst peacetime maritime disaster in history. Less than a year after the vessel sank, on October 22, 1988, a shocking tragedy was repeated when the untamed Mother Nature swallowed MV Doña Marilyn. The vessel left Manila for Tacloban in the middle of the storm, sailing at least 250 lives to their ends. Ten years later, on September 18, 1998, the line’s biggest ship, MV Princess of the Orient, left Manila for Cebu – again in the middle of the storm. It sank near Manila Bay and 150 lives were taken by the tragedy. Lastly, MV Princess of the Stars took its turn.
Looking back at those four tragedies, it seems like there is a common denominator – each was avoidable. In the cases of MV Doña Marilyn, MV Princess of the Orient, and MV Princess of the Stars, Sulpicio Lines had the choice to either push through the shipping schedule or wait until the typhoon passes by. But the shipping line took the risk to sail despite the likelihood of very rough seas and despite the decisions of other shipping companies to wait for the weather to calm down. In the same manner, the shipping line opted to go off in the vastness of the sea amid the bad weather and despite its tragic sinking history.
In Jayson’s case, we may say that it is the nature of his chosen field, but the fact remains that the shipping company should have prioritized the lives of the many, including Jayson’s, over their business.
It is such a sad thought that a dream of a hopeful student was suddenly capsized into nothingness just because of business interest.
The slogan of Sulpicio Lines that goes, “Bridging the Islands”, should make a stand as it is, not bridge the tragedies. Certainly, justice should be served for Jayson and hundreds of other victims.
(Editorial, The NORSUnian, Vol. 26, No. 4)