Kin of ship collision victims wonder why Sulpicio captain still not suspended

MANILA, Philippines–Relatives of the 80 dead and 40 missing in the Aug. 16 collision of a ferry and a cargo ship near the port of Cebu City wondered why the captain of the cargo vessel has not been suspended.

At Monday’s Senate inquiry into the collision, relatives of some of the victims–Fernando Alvarez Jr., Eliver Panuñal, Jenelyn Yandog–confronted M/V Sulpicio Express Capt. Rolito Gilo, telling him he should have been suspended after the collision.

The counsel for Sulpicio, however, maintained that Gilo was not negligent.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, chair of the investigating committee on civil service and government reorganization, said he would recommend Gilo’s suspension.

“That captain should not have been allowed to [skipper] a ship anymore,’’ an emotional Panuñal, whose wife and child remain missing nearly two months after the mishap, told the committee.

Alvarez and Yandog echoed Pañunal’s sentiment.

While he has not been suspended, Gilo said he had been prohibited from commanding a ship. In the last two months, he attended to the repair of the damaged Sulpicio Express.

Jaime Vibar, counsel for Sulpicio, said the shipping company would take action against Gilo after he completes his assignment to oversee the ship repair. He, however, defended Gilo and said that he had not been “negligent.’’

“He was navigating at the outbound lane. The scientific data generated from the AIS (Automatic Identification System) will establish that the collision occurred at the outbound lane, which means that Sulpicio vessel was traversing on the outbound lane,” Vibar told reporters after the hearing.

He said the company would submit scientific data to clarify the misimpression that the collision occurred because the Sulpicio vessel was traversing the “inbound lane.’’

Vibar said that a casualty investigator from Singapore presented the AIS data showing that the passenger ferry M/V St. Thomas Aquinas was running at a high speed of 14.2 knots while “entering or intending to enter the inbound lane.’’

“So he was able to cross the path of the Sulpicio vessel,’’ he said.

Reynan Bermejo, captain of the Thomas Aquinas, had maintained that they were on the right nautical lane.

The ferry was heading into the Cebu City port, while the cargo vessel was sailing out when they collided near the port.

The Special Board of Marine Inquiry wrapped up its investigation early last month. It was to submit its recommendations to the Board of Marine Inquiry, chaired by the Philippine Coast Guard commandant.

“He could be suspended while attending to the repair,’’ Trillanes later told reporters of Gilo.

“Definitely [we would recommend for his suspension] … at the very least the certificates of the competence of the captains involved should be revoked.’’

During the hearing, Gilo admitted commanding the Sulpicio vessel even though his certificate of competence from the Professional Regulation Commission expired in 2006, which PRC officials said was a violation of the law.

Gilo and Bermejo said they, however, have a qualification documentation certificate from Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).

Trillanes also took to task Sulpicio management for acting too slow in suspending Gilo and addressing the needs of the families of the victims.