MANILA — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday said the investigation on the sinking of three passenger motorbancas in the Iloilo-Guimaras Strait over the weekend will be finished this week.
PCG spokesperson Capt. Armando Balilo said a report on the investigation by the PCG and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) will be sent to President Rodrigo Duterte by next week after a thorough review.
“Pipilitin nila matapos hanggang Friday. So, by weekend, ire-review. By early Monday or Tuesday dapat ma-submit na nila kay Presidente (They will try to finish it by Friday. So, by the weekend, it will be reviewed. By early Monday or Tuesday, they should have submitted it to the President),” Balilo said in a phone interview.
Balilo said any lapses found during the investigation will immediately be addressed.
“Kung talagang may problema, may lapses, hindi naman din kami magkikibit-balikat. Kundi, titignan namin kung ano ang mga lessons yung mga protocols na dapat i-review para ma-improve pa natin yung service natin at hindi na maulit (If there was a problem, any lapses, we won’t shrug it off. Instead, we will look into the lessons, the protocols that need to be reviewed so we can improve our service and not let such a tragedy happen again),” Balilo said.
Based on the first-hand experience during a visit to Iloilo and Guimaras with other government officials on Wednesday, Balilo said the unpredictable weather condition in the region could be the major cause of the tragedy.
“Kalmado, biglang magkakaroon ng hangin na umiikot, parang nagi-ipo ipo yung hangin. Sumadsad nga yung RoRo (Roll-on/Roll-off vessel) kahapon. Pagkatapos maaraw, walang ulan, ilang minuto lang biglang hahangin, tapos may iikot yung tubig. Ganun yung sitwasyon dun. Hindi mo mapre-predict (It was calm, then there will be swirling winds, like a tornado. A RoRo even ran aground yesterday. After that it was sunny, no rain, then a few minutes passed there will be winds, then the water started spinning in a vortex. That was what the situation was like there. You can’t predict it),” Balilo said.
Safety measures that have been put in place for a long time will be reviewed following comments from the survivors of the incident.
“Iba-iba rin ang mga sinasabi ng mga survivors, dun nga lang namin narinig yung comment, sabi niya, ‘siguro sir kung naka-lifejacket ako baka hindi rin ako nakalabas dun sa ilalim kasi hindi ako makapag-maneuver sa swimming’ (The survivors said different things, we heard one say, ‘perhaps if I was wearing a lifejacket I could not have gotten out from underneath the sinking boat because I won’t be able to maneuver properly while swimming’),” Balilo said.
After the sinking of three wooden-hull motorbancas that took the lives of 31 people, the Transportation department suspended all such sea vessels from plying the Iloilo-Guimaras route and ordered private companies to supply the route with four RoRo and fast craft passenger vessels.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade also relieved six PCG and MARINA officials from their posts to ensure the impartial investigation with the possible filing of criminal charges.
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