Our troubled waters

Our troubled waters | Daily Tribune

The Philippines is an archipelago with about 7,641 islands. For millions of Filipinos, traveling by sea is not a novelty or a luxury; rather, it is a necessity. Ferries and passenger vessels function as roads, bridges and lifelines. Sea travel, by this reality, should be as safe as travel by land. Government must recognize this not merely as geography, but as policy. However, the events of the past weeks in Mindanao suggest that it has not.

A passenger ferry bound from Zamboanga City to Jolo met disaster on an early Monday morning, carrying over 350 passengers, leaving confirmed fatalities and hundreds rescued only through urgent, improvised efforts. Days earlier, a dive boat capsized in the Davao Gulf, with only one survivor and several lives lost or still unaccounted for. Two weeks prior, motorboat M/L Nurdia encountered trouble off Tawi-Tawi Island, which thankfully recorded no fatalities, but should not be dismissed. Take note: For these accidents, there was no strong typhoon that caused them, and this reveals a troubling pattern.

Vessels of questionable condition continue to operate and although weather advisories are issued, departures still proceed. It is only when tragedy occurs that stringent investigations and measures are enforced. Accountability later on tends to dissolve into jurisdictional ambiguity, and another sinking happens again.

The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), the Department of Transportation (DoTr), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) all carry distinct mandates of safeguarding the seas, though they may possibly overlap. When accidents cluster within days and weeks, it is reasonable to ask whether enforcement has become habitual rather than exacting.

Scrutiny must also extend to shipowners. The operator involved, Aleson Shipping Lines, is allegedly linked to the family of the sitting Mayor of Zamboanga City. Verily, this fact alone does not establish liability, but it raises a governance concern. Where political influence exists, regulators must work harder to demonstrate independence. The perception that permits and clearances may receive relaxed scrutiny undermines public trust and weakens deterrence.

In the Bangsamoro area, the role of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is crucial. While maritime regulation remains largely national, BARMM exercises authority over local ports, disaster response, coordination with local governments, and passenger safety within its waters.

Strengthening port management, enforcing embarkation controls, and ensuring coordination with the PCG should be immediate priorities. The national government, for its part, must assist BARMM through funding, technical expertise, shared enforcement protocols, and unified safety standards.

There is also a broader imperative. The government must upgrade its monitoring of Philippine waters through improved radar coverage, vessel tracking systems, and real-time inter-agency coordination. Investments in maritime domain awareness should not stop at commercial lanes and these capabilities can and should extend to our disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea.

The insurance discussion, often raised only after a disaster, reveals another imbalance. Marina announced that families of deceased passengers may receive only P200,000 in death benefits, way lower than the P400,000 mandated for land-based accidents under Third Party Liability (TPL) insurance and the Passenger Personal Accident Insurance (PPAI) program.

The disparity must be reexamined, and the insurance industry should be more than willing to reassess this imbalance. After all, a Filipino life lost at sea should not be valued less than one lost on the road.

Improving the safety of our sea travel takes a whole-of-government approach, hand in hand with the private companies. All must recognize that our waters connect us; they should not continue to claim us.