‘Nirvana passengers not on manifest can’t collect insurance’
NOT all the victims of the doomed MB Kim Nirvana will be given the standard P200,000 insurance, the House of Representatives transportation committee learned Thursday.
Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) administrator Maximo Mejia Jr. told lawmakers that the passengers who were not on the manifest of the ship would not be covered by the insurance.
The manifest is the list of passengers submitted by the shipping company to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Michael Rellosa, chairman of the Philippine Insurance and Reinsurers Association, said the excess non-manifested passengers would not be covered by insurance usually granted to victims who are killed or dismembered.
Mejia said the last recourse of the non-manifested passengers would be to sue MB Nirvana in court.
Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon said the manifest is the best evidence for the victims to obtain their insurance.
“So the (lack of manifest) constitutes a stumbling block in respect to evidence?” Ridon asked Mejia, who agreed.
“They might also argue that there is no legal contract and that you’re not a passenger,” Mejia added.
According to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Admiral Rodolfo Isorena, at least 46 out of the 209 persons who rode the doomed motor banca were not on the manifest.
He said of the 62 casualties, at least 22 were not on the manifest and in danger of not receiving insurance.
In an interview after the hearing, Ridon said the “greater tragedy is the aftermath of the disaster” when some of the victims could not get their insurance.
He said Congress should look into the liability of the PCG personnel on the ground.
“We might not be able to give justice to the non-manifested passengers at the moment but at the very least we should not allow that heads will not roll with respect to the personnel in confirming the manifest,” Ridon said.
Mejia had also told the panel that the ship operator and captain violated their franchise when they allowed 209 persons to ride the motor banca even when its carrying capacity is only at 178.
He maintained that the cause of the tragedy was misloading, or uneven distribution of the load, and not overloading.
As of latest figures, at least 62 people were killed in the sea tragedy in Ormoc, Leyte last Thursday. The wooden motor banca capsized just minutes after it left the port for Camotes Island that was 44 kilometers south.
Police has filed murder charges against ship operator Joge Bong Zarco, captain Warren Oliviero, and 17 crew members citing their negligence. The captain and the crew members survived the tragedy.
