The decomposing bodies of two Filipinos, a male and a female, might have been discovered earlier if the Philippines had a container monitoring system.
Thailand port authorities reported that the two bodies, believed to be Filipinos, were found inside a cargo vessel MV Ever Beady container on 2 October.
MV Ever Beady reportedly left the Philippines on 23 September.
According to the port station commander in Thailand, the container arrived at Laem Chabang Port Thailand, but when warehouse personnel opened to clean it, the pungent smell and rotting bodies of two people were discovered.
Based on a Thai police investigation, the woman wore a gold ring, while the man wore shorts, no shirt, and had tattoos on his chest, arms, and back. The bodies bore no signs of torture.
Thai police said the two may have been dead for two weeks.
Also found inside the container was a black T-shirt with the words: "Alpha Kappa Rho, Vincit Omnia Veritas" — a fraternity founded in the Philippines in 1973.
Police Lt. Col. Narongit Thongtawee, inspector of the Nopphavong Railway Police Station in Thailand, said they were scheduled to inform the Philippine Embassy and conduct an investigation of the Filipino consignee of the container named Evergreen Marine Corp.
Stakeholders in the logistics industry said the incident could have been prevented if the Philippines had a container monitoring system, just like in other countries.
The two bodies will be returned to the Philippines for forensic investigation.
The Philippine Ports Authority has been pushing for the Trusted Operator Program-Container Registry and Monitoring System or TOP-CRMS. This digitized system will register and monitor the movements of containers that enter and exit the ports.
This, however, has been strongly opposed by several shipping lines and the Alliance of Concerned Truck Owners and Organizations.
Under the TOP-CRMS, the containers going in and out of the country will have a proper electronic log, and cargoes will have a container insurance policy to ensure they arrive safely at their destination.
About a dozen stakeholders and business groups objected to the Philippines implementing the TOP-CRMS during public consultations held in recent months.