MASBATE-PHILIPPINES: November 2008

Friday, November 7, 2008

Owner denies overloading boat in Masbate tragedy

1 comments Posted by masbate-philppines at 4:10 PM

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

0 comments Posted by masbate-philppines at 4:27 PM

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 3) Forty people, including 11 children, were killed when a ferry capsized in a “freak accident” off Masbate province early Tuesday afternoon, the local police chief said.

The ferry, with 119 people listed on board, keeled over after being struck by a freak wind off the island of Masbate, according to Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac, Masbate provincial police director.

"The Don Dexter Kathleen capsized due to a freak accident, it was hit by a high wind despite fair weather and calm waters," Sindac told local radio.

He said rescue services recovered 40 bodies -- 11 children and 29 adults -- while 76 survivors had been pulled from the water. Twenty-five of the adult casualties were women.

Sindac did not rule out the possibility that there may have been more people onboard the ferry.

It is a common practice for inter-island ferries to be overloaded with last-minute passengers boarding without being listed in the manifest.

Sindac said the boat’s skippers, Dexter Cathlyn, Dante Bombales, were taken in custody to determine their liability in the accident. The Philippine Coast Guard also placed boat owner Eduardo Yap under its custody.

Bombales was rescued, together with 75 others, by joint teams from the Coast Guard and police, plus other volunteers who rushed to the site.

M/B Don Dexter capsized five kilometres from shore in Dimasalang town after a squall hit it 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Police have yet to identify the victims.

Sindac said the ferry, which was bound for Bulan town in Sorsogon, was barely 20 minutes into its voyage when the incident occurred.

Coast Guard and police rescue teams were able to recover the manifest of the ferry, which showed it had 119 passengers.

There was no mention of how large a crew the ferry had.

The coastguard described the vessel as a large wooden-hulled outrigger, the main mode of transport between the 7,000 islands that make up the Southeast Asian archipelago.

Meanwhile, rescue teams have suspended rescue operations past 7 p.m. Tuesday and is expected to resume 7 a.m. Wednesday, Sindac said.

Sindac said they could not say the exact number of missing passengers because some could have boarded even if they were not included in the passenger manifest.

Sindac also said that the incident was an “accident” and such squalls were normal.

“The wind is very unusual but that’s normal here,” he said.

But police are not discounting that the ship could have been overloaded when it left shore, Sindac added.

Second Lieutenant Jeffrey Collado, the local coast guard chief, said four people were still missing despite fears that there may be more still unaccounted for.

Collado said the ferry was hit by a "freak whirlwind" that rose suddenly when the ferry left port.

Coast guard chief of staff Captain Efren Evangelista said the weather and waters were calm and that there was no reason for them to stop the vessel from setting sail.

"Of course, we will be conducting an investigation of this, but for now we will be concentrating on the search and rescue operations," he added.

The accident comes four months after the 23,000 ton inter-island ferry, Princess of the Stars, capsized during a typhoon off the central island of Sibuyan carrying 850 passengers and crew.

Only 57 passengers and crew survived the accident which was the worst maritime disaster in the Philippines for 20 years.

Mishaps involving ferries are common in this archipelago where many poor people rely on small, poorly-maintained vessels to travel between islands. With reports from Kristine Alave and Ephraim Aguilar, Philippine Daily Inquirer

At least 18 people died after a motor boat sank off the coast of Dimasalang town in Masbate province, Tuesday afternoon.

Senior Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, Masbate police director, said M/B Cathlyn was traveling from Bulan, Sorsogon when it was hit by big waves off the coastal village of Magcaragit in Dimalasang town around 2 p.m.

Sindac said 14 people, including two children, have been confirmed dead in the mishap.

A separate report gathered by ABS-CBN Legaspi said at least 21 people were killed in the tragedy.

The report added that 18 bodies have been recovered by police and coast guard rescuers.

Sindac said a total of 74 passenger of the speed boat have been rescued.

He said the boat had 119 passengers when it left Bulan town.

SONA 2008 Webcast

PGMA’s SONA 2008 to center on subsidy, electricity, food production & infrastructure – Ermita President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) this year will center on government’s subsidies for the poor, electricity, food production and infrastructure. This was revealed this afternoon by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita who also said that the President will “gauge whether enough has been achieved” in the above-mentioned areas. Ermita -- who is also the Presidential Spokesman in concurrent capacity following the transfer of former Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye to the Monetary Board – said the President is now in possession of “accompanying documents” from agencies to help her craft her SONA 2008. “She will go over it, grade it (the set of documents)…” said Ermita. The hands-on President has been “going through this (SONA preparation) many times,” said Ermita, adding that yesterday, President Arroyo discussed the content for the latest SONA for over two hours. Ermita said the President will center on subsidies, electricity, food production and infrastructure, specifically “to what extent these have been achieved.” President Arroyo will also touch on the roll-on, roll-off (RORO) of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SR-NH), and balancing the budget. There will be both “mid-range and long-range” items, said Ermita, adding that the President will also touch on highways, airports, seaports, plus the electrification of all barangays. The President’s Ten-Point Agenda are as follows: 1. The creation of six million jobs in six years via more opportunities given to entrepreneurs, tripling of the amount of loans for lending to small and medium enterprises, and the development of one to two million hectares of land for agricultural business; 2. The construction of new buildings, classrooms, provision of desks and chairs and books for students and scholarships to poor families; 3. The balancing of the budget; 4. The "decentralization" of progress around the nation through the use of transportation networks like the roll-on, roll-off and the digital infrastructure; 5. The provision of electricity and water supply to barangays nationwide; 6. The decongestion of Metro Manila by forming new cores of government and housing centers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao; 7. The development of Clark and Subic as the best international service and logistic centers in the region; 8. The automation of the electoral process; 9. A just end to the peace process; and 10. A fair closure to the divisiveness among the Edsa 1, 2 and 3 forces.