ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/27January)— The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has ordered the suspension of operations of the entire passenger fleet of Aleson Shipping Lines, owner of the Sulu-bound roll-on/roll-off vessel which sank off Basilan at about 1 AM Monday.
Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez, in a media conference online, said the DOTr is conducting a comprehensive safety audit and Inspection of all vessels operated by the shipping lines.
He said the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has been instructed to only give special permits to vessels that will be found sea-worthy and qualified.
Meanwhile, Lopez said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has been directed to give free ferry rides for passengers on the Zamboanga-Jolo-Zamboanga route until the comprehensive safety audit and inspection on Aleson vessels is completed.
“The maritime safety of the passengers is not optional. It is non-negotiable,” Lopez stressed.
Meanwhile, Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso, whose wife’s family own Aleson Shipping Lines, said the Zamboanga City Government has set up a unified processing center for survivors and their families.
Olaso said the processing center will assist survivors in getting help from agencies such as the City Social Welfare and Development office, City Health Office, Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Red Cross, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Ports Authority the Zamboanga City Police Office, and Aleson Shipping Lines.
The Basilan provincial government has likewise assisted survivors and their families. The Basilan provincial government said it has given P795,205 worth of assistance for survivors and victims’ families. One hundred forty nine of the 359 passengers and crew were brought to Isabela City after being rescued from the sea.
Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman led the comprehensive emergency response which allowed P5,000 cash assistance to every survivor and P10,000 burial assistance to every family of those who died.
Each beneficiary received the relief and support services from the City Social Welfare and Development Office of Isabela City and the Ministry of Social Services-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (MSSD-BARMM).
Survivors also received 130 t-shirts, 100 pairs of slippers, and 350 servings of hot meals from the Isabela City government as well as hygiene kits with 19 pails from the Provincial Health Office and 100 pails from the Ministry of Social Services and Development-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MSSD-BARMM).
Some 700 packed meals were also provided by the provincial government to survivors and first responders.
Survivors, meanwhile, told harrowing stories of floating at sea in the middle of the night, separated from families and companions, while waiting for rescue.
Alnadjer Muarip said chaos during the sinking caused him to be separated from his pregnant wife and child. Rescued at about 2 AM, Muarip said he was later able to reunite with his wife but his child remains missing as of this writing.
Lawyer Jun Guru, who said he does not know how to swim, said he was afloat from about 1 AM till rescued at about 3 AM. Guru said his companions, Judge Alberto Romulo and Jamal Tahir, are still unaccounted for.
The boat’s captain, 8 crew members, and a PCG sea marshal are also among the missing.
Fate, however, intervened for passenger Dah Edding Aming who decided to take another boat to Jolo at the last minute.
“From the moment I left our house, I felt something strange, like an invisible string pulling me back. For the first time ever, I found myself continuously updating my younger sister– telling her I was entering the port gate, that I was inside the ship, and that I hated my accommodation,” Aming, who was booked as passenger number 285, said.
“Dih ako mabaya sin bed ko, byah kabaong (I don’t like my bed, it’s like a coffin),” she said.
Aming said she decided to leave, took another boat, and safely arrived at Jolo at 4 in the morning.
“Around 4:00 AM, I received a call from my other sister. Her voice was trembling and she was crying, telling me how grateful she was to hear my voice. They had seen news on Facebook that the MV Trisha had sunk and saw my name on the manifest. They couldn’t believe I had transferred to another vessel until they heard for themselves that I was alive,” Aming said. (Frencie L. Carreon, MindaNews)
