MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE 2) Instead of re-floating the sunken MV Princess of the Stars, Sulpicio Lines Inc. is now planning to simply tow the vessel to shore so that bodies still trapped inside the ship could be recovered safely and the shipping firm has three months to do this, Transportation undersecretary Ma. Elena Bautista said.

In a press conference at the Department of Transportation and Communication Tuesday after meeting with DoTC officials, Bautista said she was also giving SLI until Wednesday to name a salvor.

Bautista, head of the task force investigating the ill-fated inter-island vessel, said refloating the ship would cost more than P100 million which SLI would shoulder.

“Last resort na akuin ito ng gobyerno, pero sisingilin parin namin sila [It will be a last resort for government to shoulder the costs, but we will bill them for this],” Bautista said.

She did not say how much it would cost to tow the ship that sank off Sibuyan Island during the onslaught of typhoon “Frank” (international codename: Fengshen) last June 21, bringing down more than 800 passengers and crew.

Bautista said SLI had asked for 164 days for the operation, which she rejected because what the company was asking for was “hindi katanggap-tanggap [unacceptable]” and for “humanitarian considerations.”

“Umapela kami sa kanila [We appealed to them] to make it three months. Hindi dapat patagalin ito. Kung kailangang magdagdag ng tao, ng equipment, para lang matapos ito, gawin natin [This should not be prolonged any longer. If we need to add personnel, equipment, to finish this, let’s do it],” she said.

“Based on the Sulpicio report this morning, their plan now is to just tow the vessel to the shore, get the hazardous materials out, get the fuel out, and get the people out,” Bautista told the House of Representatives’ oversight committee, one of two committees investigating the tragedy, earlier on Tuesday.

“And I think that would be more cost-effective and most practical because that can be done, maybe within a month, as compared to refloating, which would probably take three months,” said Bautista, who also heads the task force investigating the disaster.

The same experts, she said, also proposed two other options to retrieve the vessel aside from towing it to shore -- re-float it from where it is now, and to pull the wreck towards the deeper part of the sea and then turn it right side up.

“These were the there alternatives presented to us and it seems that the most practical option now is to just pull the vessel to the shore,” Bautista said.

Bautista said SLI was looking at three possible third party companies to get the services of a salvor and adjuster but refused to name them.

She added that should SLI opt to tow or just re-float the vehicle, the salvor should be an expert to make sure that minimal damage was done to sea life and hazardous wastes inside the ill-fated ship would not spill.

“Dapat yung i-appoint nila may expertise. Kasi hindi dapat pabigla-bigla yung pag-alis ng barko dun kasi hindi natin alam kung anong pwedeng mangyari sa loob [They should appoint someone with expertise because the ship cannot be removed abruptly because there is no telling what could happen inside it],” Bautista said.

She said she also raised this issue before some key Cabinet members and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s instruction was to make sure that there would be no additional lives lost.

Although towing the vessel would destroy the corals in the sea, Bautista said, non-government organizations also acknowledged that protecting the lives of those who would engage in a potentially dangerous mission would be more important now than the environmental issue.

“So that’s our guidance now. We will be prioritizing lives, we’re not risking any more divers to go and retrieve bodies with the presence of hazardous materials inside the vessel,” she pointed out.

Bautista said she was also advised by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to make sure that the shipping company would sign an undertaking vowing not to abandon its responsibility since there are still hazardous materials onboard the ship.

She said the shipping company gave its commitment to assume responsibility for salvaging the vessel when she talked to Edgar Go, vice president of SLI, early on Tuesday.

“There’s some progress and I think they are acknowledging responsibility and I really appreciate Sulpicio taking that effort though the vessel has been abandoned,” Bautista said.

“So I’m very much relying now on their word and hopefully, if they are really serious in keeping their word, they would be willing to sign an undertaking to make sure that they will also follow through in the completion of this whole process of salvaging,” she added.