Our country has had a string of maritime accidents, the most tragic of which was the Doña Paz which claimed the lives of more than 4,000 passengers and series of oil spill incidents, the most recent is yet to be contained.
We call on our concerned agencies, particularly MARINA to conduct a no-nonsense probe on this latest sea tragedy. Likewise, we expect MARINA to be on guard in securing the seaworthiness of passengers as well as cargo vessels.
Sa tuwing may mahabang bakasyon gaya ng Holy Week, Undas o Christmas season, nababalitaan natin ang mga ganitong trahedya at kadalasan mapapag-alaman natin na overloaded pala ang sasakyan. Umaasa tayo na gagawin ng mga kinauukulan ang kanilang mandato para masiguro ang kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan.
This incident, as well as the sinking of tanker MT Princess Empress should serve as a wake-up call to the concerned authorities in coming up with needed mechanisms to prevent the recurrence of sea accidents. A Senate probe need not be conducted. What the public immediately needs is assurance of security of their safety from those tasked to oversee the operations of those in maritime transport.